2016 Begins With All SoCal Gas Averages Above $3, But Relief Could Be On The Way

Southern California gas prices continued to increase as the year began but could reverse and drop in coming days if a 60-cent plunge in Los Angeles wholesale fuel prices is sustained, according to the Automobile Club of Southern California's Weekend Gas Watch. The retail state average is $2.881 a gallon for regular today, 3 cents more than last Thursday.

The average price of self-serve regular gasoline in the Los Angeles-Long Beach area is $3.074 per gallon, which is 2 cents higher than last week, 29 cents more than last month, and 40 cents higher than last year. In San Diego, the average price is $3.061, which is 2.7 cents more than last week, 31 cents higher than last month, and 41 cents more than this time last year. On the Central Coast, the average price is $3.026, 3.1 cents more than last week, 28 cents higher than a month ago, and 27 cents more than last year. In the Inland Empire, the average per-gallon price is $3.035, 3.8 cents higher than last week, 31 cents more than last month, and 40 cents more than last year.

“Southern California is currently the only region in the US with gas price averages above $3 a gallon, but that could change soon in response to plummeting local wholesale prices as supply fears from unplanned maintenance may have reached an end,” said Auto Club spokesman Jeffrey Spring. “On Wednesday, Los Angeles wholesale gasoline reached $1.38, a level not seen since Thanksgiving. If that price is sustained, we may again see some gas stations with $2.50 prices for regular unleaded.”

The Weekend Gas Watch monitors the average price of gasoline. As of 9 a.m. on Jan. 7, averages are: