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First 10-Cent Weekly Spike of 2013 For Gas

Southern California gas prices posted their first double-digit weekly increase of 2013 in response to wholesale prices spiking 50 cents in the previous week, according to the Automobile Club of Southern California's Weekend Gas Watch. The state average is $3.764 a gallon for regular today – 11.3 cents higher than last week.
 
The average price of self-serve regular gasoline in the Los Angeles-Long Beach area is $3.849 per gallon, which is 10 cents more than last week, 23 cents higher than last month, and 6 cents higher than last year. In San Diego, the price is $3.820, 10.9 cents above last week, 21 cents above last month, and 5 cents higher than last year. On the Central Coast, the average price is $3.816, up 8 cents from last week, 17 cents higher than a month ago, and four-tenths of a cent less than last year. In the Inland Empire, the average per-gallon price is $3.805, up 10.3 cents from last week, 22 cents higher than last month, and 4 cents less than last year.
 
“The usual culprits are being listed as reasons for the spike – high oil prices, Middle East tension, local refinery incidents and refineries being brought down for maintenance as they prepare to produce the summer blend of gasoline,” said Auto Club spokesperson Jeffrey Spring. “But perhaps equally if not more importantly, say oil industry analysts, financial market managers see refined gasoline as a ‘sure bet’ for their clients’ portfolios. Big investment money is flowing earlier and earlier into gasoline trading, ahead of the usual ‘spring spike.’ Southern California is a particularly vulnerable market for shortages because it has no inexpensive alternatives if local refinery production is down, and traders are aware of this.”
  
The Weekend Gas Watch monitors the average price of gasoline. As of 9 a.m. on Jan. 31, averages are:
 
Area                   
Regular
One-week
change
 
Record Price
 
Los Angeles – Long Beach
$3.849
+10.0 cents
 $4.705 (10/9/12)
 
 
 
 
Orange County
$3.835
+11.7 cents
 $4.690 (10/8/12)
 
 
 
 
San Diego
$3.820
+10.9 cents
 $4.725 (10/8/12)
 
 
 
 
Santa Barbara – Santa Maria – Lompoc
$3.816
+8.0 cents
 $4.709 (6/21/08)
 
 
 
 
Riverside – San  Bernardino
$3.805
+10.3 cents
 $4.688 (10/8/12)
 
 
 
 
Bakersfield
$3.712
+7.9 cents
 $4.648 (10/9/12)
 
 
 
 
Ventura
$3.828
+9.7 cents
   $4.689 (10/7/12)
 
 

Media Contacts

Marie Montgomery
(714) 420-0477 (cell)
Montgomery.Marie@aaa-calif.com
CST 1016202-80 Copyright © Automobile Club of Southern California. All Rights Reserved.
The Automobile Club of Southern California is a member club affiliated with the American Automobile Association (AAA) national federation and serves members in the following California counties: Inyo, Imperial, Kern, Los Angeles, Mono, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Tulare, and Ventura.