Auto Club: Monthly Gas Prices Cool Down As Summer Heats Up

(LOS ANGELES, July 14, 2009) —Gas prices have drifted under $3 a gallon in most parts of Southern California after a seven-week run-up that began at the start of May, according to the Automobile Club of Southern California monthly Fuel Gauge Report.

The Southern California July average price for regular self-serve gasoline is $2.90, two cents lower than the June average price of $2.923. This month’s average price is $1.68 lower than last year’s July price average of $4.585, which was the all-time highest monthly Fuel Gauge report price for Southern California.

The statewide average price of $2.885 is three cents lower than the June average of $2.915. For the second straight month, Marysville in Northern California has the state’s lowest gas price average at $2.678. Also for the second month in a row, Eureka has the highest price average in the state at $3.137.

Nationally, the average price of $2.517 is ten cents lower than the June average of $2.619. A tax that was reinstated on July 1 pushed Hawaii to become the most expensive state for gas prices at $3.257. Missouri has the lowest state average price at $2.268 – nearly a dollar lower than the Hawaii average.

“The ongoing flat demand for gasoline finally burst the bubble for crude oil and wholesale gasoline prices in late June, and pump prices have been coming down since then,” said Auto Club spokesperson Jeffrey Spring. “Oil industry analysts say there’s still lots of room for more price decreases in coming weeks, given the overall drop in wholesale prices.”

In Southern California, the averages for regular and premium grades of gasoline are listed below:

 

County/City	Unl 7/14	Unl 6/9	Pre 7/14	Pre 6/9
Imperial County
El Centro	2.963	2.946	3.213	3.069
Inyo County
Bishop	2.974	2.871	3.224	3.019
Kern County
Bakersfield	2.932	2.922	3.115	3.054
Ridgecrest	3.034	2.962	3.204	3.099
Los Angeles County
Alhambra	2.902	2.936	3.059	3.119
Arcadia	2.889	2.927	3.150	3.059
Burbank	2.896	2.928	3.109	3.121
Culver City	2.906	2.903	3.180	3.132
Glendale	2.928	2.918	3.119	3.106
Glendora	2.848	2.860	3.079	3.041
Inglewood	2.869	2.899	3.084	3.088
Lancaster	2.844	2.923	3.026	3.083
Long Beach	2.846	2.899	3.055	3.093
Los Angeles	2.909	2.924	3.090	3.111
Manhattan Beach	2.965	2.943	3.146	3.131
Montebello	2.881	2.903	3.039	3.149
Santa Clarita	2.879	2.930	3.067	3.099
Santa Monica	2.923	2.926	3.182	3.149
Van Nuys	2.827	2.865	3.000	3.042
Whittier	2.864	2.906	3.077	3.106
Woodland Hills	2.861	2.931	3.066	3.108
Orange County
Anaheim	2.846	2.904	3.041	3.080
Fullerton	2.819	2.892	3.011	3.075
Huntington Beach	2.854	2.921	3.049	3.115
La Habra	2.807	2.878	2.944	3.035
Laguna Beach	3.028	2.962	3.219	3.164
Newport Beach	2.937	2.964	3.174	3.153
San Clemente	2.996	2.954	3.159	3.167
Tustin	2.903	2.922	3.099	3.124
Riverside County
Blythe	3.057	2.988	3.304	3.089
Hemet	2.832	2.878	3.037	3.070
Palm Springs	2.903	2.931	3.006	3.143
Riverside	2.851	2.895	3.036	3.083
San Bernardino County
Redlands	2.886	2.911	3.052	3.098
San Bernardino	2.845	2.887	3.056	3.066
Victorville	2.846	2.906	3.025	3.069
San Diego County
Chula Vista	2.799	2.873	2.978	3.054
Del Mar	3.019	3.057	3.239	3.289
Escondido	2.822	2.914	3.052	3.100
Oceanside	2.865	2.947	3.062	3.156
San Diego	2.862	2.921	3.060	3.109
San Luis Obispo County
San Luis Obispo	2.979	2.971	3.167	3.103
Santa Barbara County
Lompoc	2.882	2.860	3.132	2.999
Santa Barbara	2.992	2.967	3.259	3.187
Santa Maria	2.908	2.937	3.107	3.157
Tulare County
Porterville	2.863	2.957	3.094	3.107
Visalia	2.943	2.934	3.131	3.096
Ventura County
Ventura	2.900	2.938	3.092	3.114
	Unl 7/14	Unl 6/9	Pre 7/14	Pre 6/9
So. Calif. Avg.	2.900	2.923	3.101	3.104