Auto Club: Gas Price Average Returns to February Mark

(LOS ANGELES, Mar. 14, 2006) —The average price of a gallon of gasoline in Southern California has climbed back to where it was a month ago and is still going up, according to the Automobile Club of Southern California monthly Fuel Gauge Report. In the past three months, prices have climbed nearly 34 cents due to speculation over international oil production.

The Southern California March average price for regular self-serve gasoline is $2.626, which is nearly even with the Feb. 14 price of $2.628.

“In February, gas prices were on the rise, but by the end of the month they were falling as refiners sold off remaining winter grade fuel so they could prepare to sell summer grade fuel starting March 1,” said Auto Club spokesperson Carol Thorp. “Since then we have seen a gradual increase until prices are now equal to a month ago. We expect prices to continue higher during the spring, but the rate of increase depends on the amount of speculation that occurs.”

Statewide, the average price for March is $2.573 up about a penny compared to February. The all-time record high of $3.054 was set on Sept. 9, 2005. The lowest average price in the state is in Pleasanton, where regular is selling for $2.417. Blythe reports the state’s highest average price at $2.838.

Nationally, the average price is $2.363, up from $2.292 in February. The state with the highest gas price average is Hawaii at $2.863. South Carolina has the lowest average at $2.220

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

County/City	Regular 3-14-06	Regular 2-14-06	Premium 3-14-06	Premium 2-14-06
Imperial County
El Centro	2.706	2.728	2.840	2.911

Inyo County
Bishop	2.677	2.699	2.847	2.855

Kern County
Bakersfield	2.563	2.600	2.727	2.793
Ridgecrest	2.591	2.584	2.636	2.688

Los Angeles County
Alhambra	2.591	2.581	2.755	2.729
Arcadia	2.627	2.615	2.843	2.826
Burbank	2.616	2.588	2.762	2.819
Culver City	2.645	2.687	2.827	2.888
Glendale	2.624	2.577	2.804	2.759
Glendora	2.564	2.567	2.639	2.765
Inglewood	2.561	2.572	2.794	2.789
Lancaster	2.606	2.641	2.721	2.811
Long Beach	2.593	2.596	2.740	2.777
Los Angeles	2.637	2.631	2.787	2.799
Manhattan Beach	2.681	2.639	2.851	2.839
Montebello	2.595	2.589	2.499	2.767
Santa Clarita	2.593	2.576	2.759	2.786
Santa Monica	2.715	2.641	2.746	2.811
Van Nuys	2.569	2.567	2.676	2.744
Whittier	2.532	2.550	2.581	2.733
Woodland Hills	2.644	2.632	2.859	2.832

Orange County
Anaheim	2.514	2.514	2.646	2.666
Fullerton	2.493	2.502	2.666	2.655
Huntington Beach	2.512	2.528	2.667	2.739
La Habra	2.473	2.462	2.571	2.666
Laguna Beach	2.713	2.669	2.959	2.889
Newport Beach	2.667	2.654	2.939	2.877
San Clemente	2.694	2.677	2.891	2.866
Tustin	2.634	2.610	2.866	2.802

Riverside County
Blythe	2.838	2.838	3.019	3.033
Hemet	2.634	2.655	2.657	2.811
Palm Springs	2.694	2.704	2.899	2.939
Riverside	2.609	2.607	2.783	2.776

San Bernardino County
Redlands	2.598	2.606	2.773	2.799
San Bernardino	2.628	2.616	2.773	2.789
Victorville	2.673	2.692	2.693	2.856

San Diego County
Chula Vista	2.590	2.599	2.796	3.788
Del Mar	2.760	2.759	2.986	2.911
Escondido	2.544	2.543	2.754	2.733
Oceanside	2.631	2.616	2.856	2.810
San Diego	2.629	2.639	2.809	2.848

San Luis Obispo County
San Luis Obispo	2.707	2.694	2.859	2.888

Santa Barbara County
Lompoc	2.668	2.758	2.818	2.959
Santa Barbara	2.730	2.798	2.965	2.977
Santa Maria	2.715	2.735	2.746	2.911

Tulare County
Porterville	2.588	2.612	2.559	2.819
Visalia	2.583	2.610	2.703	2.789

Ventura County
Ventura	2.581	2.609	2.614	2.787

So. Calif. Avg.	2.626	2.628	2.770	2.835

The Auto Club’s Fuel Gauge Report is based on data gathered from monitoring fuel transactions at 2,800 Southern California gas stations. Oil Price Information Service — the nation’s most comprehensive source of petroleum pricing information, provides the data. Editors, for regional average daily fuel prices nationwide, please go to www.fuelgaugereport.com.

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