One year ago, Southern California drivers were facing double-digit weekly gas price increases due to a major local refinery explosion, but today drivers are seeing fuel costs race down as local wholesale prices dropped to a 14-year low of 66 cents a gallon, according to the Automobile Club of Southern California's Weekend Gas Watch. The retail state average is $2.363 a gallon for regular today, 9.3 cents less than last Thursday.
The average price of self-serve regular gasoline in the Los Angeles-Long Beach area is $2.471 per gallon, which is 12.3 cents lower than last week, 46 cents less than last month, and 41 cents lower than last year. In San Diego, the average price is $2.47, which is 11.3 cents less than last week, 44 cents lower than last month, and 38 cents less than this time last year. On the Central Coast, the average price is $2.417, 11.6 cents less than last week, 46 cents lower than a month ago, and 46 cents less than last year. In the Inland Empire, the average per-gallon price is $2.438, 14.4 cents lower than last week, 47 cents less than last month, and 40 cents less than last year.
“Los Angeles wholesale prices are at their lowest point in 14 years, when travel demand dropped after 9/11,” said Auto Club spokesman Jeffrey Spring. “Retail prices now have room to drop by at least another 30 cents a gallon. However, there’s not a lot of time for those pump price reductions to happen before gas stations begin the switch from winter blend to summer blend gasoline mandated by state air quality requirements. Many Southern California gas stations must be selling the summer fuel blend by April 1, and prices typically rise once that begins to happen.”
The Weekend Gas Watch monitors the average price of gasoline. As of 9 a.m. on Feb. 18, averages are:
Area |
Regular |
One-week change |
Record Price |
Los Angeles – Long Beach |
$2.471 |
-12.3 cents |
$4.705 (10/9/12) |
|
|
|
|
Orange County |
$2.470 |
-11.8 cents |
$4.690 (10/8/12) |
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San Diego |
$2.470 |
-11.3 cents |
$4.725 (10/8/12) |
|
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|
Santa Barbara – Santa Maria – Lompoc |
$2.417 |
-11.6 cents |
$4.709 (6/21/08) |
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|
Riverside – San Bernardino |
$2.438 |
-14.4 cents |
$4.688 (10/8/12) |
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Ventura |
$2.459 |
-14.5 cents |
$4.689 (10/7/12) |
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Bakersfield |
$2.322 |
-9.5 cents |
$4.648 (10/9/12) |