Gas prices continued to drop throughout Southern California in the last week despite a three-cent increase in the gasoline excise tax on Friday and the increase in demand for fuel during the Independence Day holiday weekend, according to the Auto Club’s Weekend Gas Watch. The average price for self-serve regular gasoline in California is $6.19, which is ten cents lower than last week. The average national price is $4.75, which is 11 cents lower than a week ago.
The average price of self-serve regular gasoline in the Los Angeles-Long Beach area is $6.24 per gallon, which is nine cents lower than last week, 16 cents lower than last month, and $1.90 higher than last year. In San Diego, the average price is $6.15, which is ten cents lower than last week, 14 cents lower than last month, and $1.86 higher than last year.
On the Central Coast, the average price is $6.19, which is nine cents lower than last week, ten cents lower than last month and is $1.92 higher than last year. In Riverside, the average per-gallon price is $6.12, which is ten cents lower than last week, 13 cents lower than last month and $1.86 higher than a year ago. In Bakersfield, the $6.29 average price is three cents lower than last Thursday, one cent higher than last month and $2.06 higher than a year ago today.
“Los Angeles wholesale gasoline prices have plunged by 70 cents since last Friday and by $1.40 compared to last month, largely on concerns about the economy,” said Auto Club spokesperson Doug Shupe. “This downward momentum should provide at least a week or two of significant further declines in local gas prices.”
The Weekend Gas Watch monitors the average price of gasoline. As of 9 a.m. on July 7, averages are: