NOTE: This is a correction from an earlier report stating seven tankers of gasoline have arrived or are on the way. Those tankers contained jet fuel, but one tanker with regular fuel has arrived in Los Angeles.
Production and inventories for California gasoline continue to dwindle, but gasoline imports from overseas have arrived this week in Los Angeles which has helped to minimize increases in pump prices, according to the Automobile Club of Southern California’s Weekend Gas Watch. Today’s retail statewide average is $4.15 a gallon for regular unleaded, which is three cents higher than last week.
The average price of self-serve regular gasoline in the Los Angeles-Long Beach area is $4.18 per gallon, which is one cent higher than last week, 16 cents higher than last month, and $1.29 higher than last year. In San Diego, the average price is $4.16, which is two cents higher than last week, 14 cents more than than last month, and $1.31 higher than last year.
On the Central Coast, the average price is $4.15, which is three cents higher than last week, 15 cents higher than last month, and $1.21 higher than last year. In Riverside, the average per-gallon price is $4.09, which is one cent higher than last week, 14 cents higher than last month, and $1.33 higher than last year. In Bakersfield, the $4.04 average price is three cents higher than last week, 17 cents higher than last month, and $1.46 higher than a year ago today.
"According to Oil Price Information Service, California-blend gasoline from overseas arrived this week in Southern California, minimizing local price increases," said Auto Club spokesperson Jeffrey Spring. "The imports are helping to relieve an ongoing shortage of refinery gasoline production and inventory statewide. However, an unplanned outage last week at a Northern California refinery could further impact Southern California fuel supplies and prices in coming weeks."
The Weekend Gas Watch monitors the average price of gasoline. As of 9 a.m. on May 20, averages are:
