SoCal All-Time Record Monthly Gas Price Jump Brings Pump Prices Higher Than Hawaii

The skyrocketing gas price averages of last week have created an all-time record 77-cent monthly price jump, meaning Southern California drivers are now paying more to fill up than anywhere else in the U.S., according to the Automobile Club of Southern California's Weekend Gas Watch. The retail state average is $3.097 a gallon for regular today, 26.3 cents more than last week.

The average price of self-serve regular gasoline in the Los Angeles-Long Beach area is $3.245 per gallon, which is 34.4 cents more than last week, 77 cents more than last month, and 64 cents lower than last year. In San Diego, the average price is $3.203, which is 33 cents more than last week, 76 cents higher than last month, and 68 cents lower than last year. On the Central Coast, the average price is $3.204, 31.3 cents more than last week, 72 cents higher than a month ago, and 69 cents less than last year. In the Inland Empire, the average per-gallon price is $3.184, up 31.9 cents from last week, 77 cents more than last month, and 68 cents less than last year.

“The Torrance refinery incident of last week is clearly a major cause of this jump that is giving Southern California drivers higher fuel bills than even Wailuku, Maui, traditionally the most expensive place in the country to buy gas ,” said Auto Club spokesman Jeffrey Spring. “The biggest weekly price jump Southern California ever experienced was from Oct. 1 to Oct. 8 of 2012, when pump prices rose by 52 cents during a summer-blend fuel shortage. But even during that time, the net increase in prices for the month was 20 cents lower than the current monthly increase. And with wholesale prices jumping further by 20 cents on Wednesday for a net increase of $1.40 since Jan. 15, we can expect even more possibly hefty pump price increases in the coming days.”

The Weekend Gas Watch monitors the average price of gasoline. As of 9 a.m. on Feb. 26, averages are: