Auto Club: Gas Prices Begin Dropping As Oil, Local Wholesale Prices Slump

Local gas prices dropped over the past week after Los Angeles wholesale gasoline prices dropped to their lowest levels in five months, according to the Automobile Club of Southern California's Weekend Gas Watch. The retail statewide average is $3.60 a gallon for regular unleaded, which is two cents lower than last week.
 
The average price of self-serve regular gasoline in the Los Angeles-Long Beach area is $3.62 per gallon, which is down two cents from last weeks, down five cents from last month, and is 61 cents higher than last year. In San Diego, the average price is $3.59, which two cents lower than last Thursday, six cents less than last month, and 61 cents higher than this time last year. On the Central Coast, the average price is $3.71, which is a penny lower than last week, a penny lower than last month, and 68 cents higher than last year. In Riverside, the average per-gallon price is $3.51, which is three cents lower than last week, seven cents lower than last month, and 58 cents more than at this time last year.

“Southern California refineries are producing at near-record levels while investors are worried about reduced demand, which led to a futures sell-off last week and a drop in wholesale prices,” said Auto Club spokesman Jeffrey Spring. “This drop, combined with a significant worldwide downturn in oil prices this week, could mean continued price reductions at the pump in coming weeks.”

The Weekend Gas Watch monitors the average price of gasoline. As of 9 a.m. on Aug. 16, averages are: