Los Angeles and its surrounding areas saw gas price averages hop over $4 a gallon in the last couple of days, according to the Automobile Club of Southern California's Weekend Gas Watch. The state average is $3.941 a gallon for regular today, five cents more than last week.
The average price of self-serve regular gasoline in the Los Angeles-Long Beach area is $4.021 per gallon, which is 5.8 cents more than last week, 28.5 cents higher than last month, and 21 cents lower than last year. In San Diego, the average price is $3.982, which is 3.3 cents above last week, 24 cents higher than last month, and 21 cents lower than last year. On the Central Coast, the average price is $4.015, up 5 cents from last week, 26 cents higher than a month ago, and 24 cents less than last year. In the Inland Empire, the average per-gallon price is $3.978, up 4.4 cents from last week, 26 cents more than last month, and 22 cents less than last year.
“The gap between Los Angeles retail and wholesale prices has widened in the last week, with retail prices growing beyond the traditional margin of $1 above wholesale,” said Auto Club spokesman Jeffrey Spring. “Even though it’s no longer unusual to see fuel costing more than $4 a gallon in Southern California in the spring, the underlying factors don’t seem to be supporting that price.”
The Weekend Gas Watch monitors the average price of gasoline. As of 9 a.m. on March 13, averages are:
Area |
Regular |
One-week change
|
Record Price
|
Los Angeles – Long Beach |
$4.021 |
+5.8 cents |
$4.705 (10/9/12) |
|
|
|
|
Orange County |
$4.026 |
+5.3 cents |
$4.690 (10/8/12) |
|
|
|
|
San Diego |
$3.982 |
+3.3 cents |
$4.725 (10/8/12) |
|
|
|
|
Santa Barbara – Santa Maria – Lompoc |
$4.015 |
+5.0 cents |
$4.709 (6/21/08) |
|
|
|
|
Riverside – San Bernardino |
$3.978 |
+4.4 cents |
$4.688 (10/8/12) |
Ventura |
$4.016 |
+6.1 cents |
$4.689 (10/7/12) |