Some drivers who fill their vehicle fuel tanks over Christmas may feel they are getting a lump of coal instead, as high gas prices remain the norm throughout Southern California, according to the Auto Club’s Weekend Gas Watch. The average price for self-serve regular gasoline in California is $4.66, which is unchanged compared to last week and five cents below the record price of $4.71 reached in late November. The average national price is $3.29, which is down three cents from a week ago.
The average price of self-serve regular gasoline in the Los Angeles-Long Beach area is $4.67 per gallon, which is one cent lower than last week, three cents lower than last month, $1.48 higher than last year, and four cents lower than the all-time record price of $4.72 set Nov. 27. In San Diego, the average price is $4.62, which is down one cent from last week, down four cents from last month, $1.43 higher than last year, and 11 cents below its record price reached in 2012.
On the Central Coast, the average price is $4.61, which is one cent lower than last Thursday, four cents lower than last month, $1.42 higher than last year, and ten cents below the record set in June 2008. In Riverside, the average per-gallon price is $4.60, which is one cent lower than last Thursday, two cents lower than last month, $1.47 higher than last year and seven cents below the record set in October 2012. In Bakersfield, the $4.62 average price is one cent lower than last Thursday, two cents lower than last month, $1.50 higher than a year ago today and four cents lower than the record price reached Nov. 29.
“While dropping slowly, it seems average gas prices above $4.50 per gallon will be with us until after the new year,” said Auto Club spokesman Jeffrey Spring. “There are only two states in the country with an average gas price for regular above $4 a gallon. And the other state - Hawaii – has an average today that is 33 cents per gallon below our state.”
The Weekend Gas Watch monitors the average price of gasoline. As of 9 a.m. on Dec. 24, averages are: