Southern California gas prices have now spiked by 57 cents or more in the past month – one of the biggest one-month jumps ever, according to the Automobile Club of Southern California's Weekend Gas Watch. The state average is $4.203 a gallon for regular today – 11.6 cents higher than last week.
The average price of self-serve regular gasoline in the Los Angeles-Long Beach area is $4.316 per gallon, which is 11.3 cents more than last week, 57 cents higher than last month, and 23 cents higher than last year. In San Diego, the average price is $4.285, 10.2 cents above last week, 58 cents above last month, and 20 cents higher than last year. On the CentralCoast, the average price is $4.306, up 12.8 cents from last week, 59 cents higher than a month ago, and 20 cents more than last year. In the Inland Empire, the average per-gallon price is $4.276, up 10.6 cents from last week, 58 cents higher than last month, and 23 cents more than last year.
“Prices have now gone up even more than they did during the spike in October and the one last February, and more quickly than they did during any one-month stretch in 2008, when we had another big spike,” said Auto Club spokesperson Jeffrey Spring. “Los Angeles drivers are now paying nearly as much as drivers on Maui for regular unleaded, which is unprecedented.”
The Weekend Gas Watch monitors the average price of gasoline. As of 9 a.m. on Feb. 21, averages are:
Area
|
Regular
|
One-week
change
|
Record Price
|
Los Angeles – Long Beach
|
$4.316
|
+11.3 cents
|
$4.705 (10/9/12)
|
|
|
|
|
Orange County
|
$4.306
|
+11.4 cents
|
$4.690 (10/8/12)
|
|
|
|
|
San Diego
|
$4.285
|
+10.2 cents
|
$4.725 (10/8/12)
|
|
|
|
|
Santa Barbara – Santa Maria – Lompoc
|
$4.306
|
+12.8 cents
|
$4.709 (6/21/08)
|
|
|
|
|
Riverside – San Bernardino
|
$4.276
|
+10.6 cents
|
$4.688 (10/8/12)
|
|
|
|
|
Bakersfield
|
$4.144
|
+10.7 cents
|
$4.648 (10/9/12)
|
|
|
|
|
Ventura
|
$4.296
|
+9.9 cents
|
$4.689 (10/7/12)
|