Auto Club: Gas Prices Start Leveling Off Prior To State Tax Hike

Southern California gas prices dropped for the week but have started inching back up before Monday’s state gas tax hike of 5.6 cents a gallon takes effect, according to the Automobile Club of Southern California's Weekend Gas Watch. The retail statewide average is $3.74 a gallon for regular unleaded, which is four cents lower than last week.
 
The average price of self-serve regular gasoline in the Los Angeles-Long Beach area is $3.73 per gallon, which is two cents lower than last week, 25 cents lower than last month, and six cents higher than last year. In San Diego, the average price is $3.71, which is three cents below last Thursday, 26 cents below last month, and three cents higher than this time last year. On the Central Coast, the average price is $3.84, which is two cents less than last week, 21 cents lower than last month, and nine cents higher than last year. In Riverside, the average per-gallon price is $3.63, which is five cents lower than last week, 30 cents lower than last month, and one cent higher than last year. In San Bernardino, the $3.68 average price is five cents lower than last week, 27 cents lower than last month, and four cents higher than a year ago today.

“Los Angeles wholesale gasoline prices jumped this week on news that after five weeks of inventory buildup on the West Coast, gasoline supplies declined in the last week,” said Auto Club spokesman Jeffrey Spring. “Demand is being at least partially fueled by the all-time record 3.5 million Southern Californians expected to travel over the Independence Day holiday – a 3.9 percent increase from last year.”

Starting Monday, California drivers will start paying a 5.6-cent-a-gallon gas tax increase to fund state transportation projects. Additional annual gas tax increases tied to inflation will begin in July 2020.

The Weekend Gas Watch monitors the average price of gasoline. As of 9 a.m. on June 27, averages are: