Editors Note: This Weekend Gas Watch was published on Friday due to the holiday and contains comparisons to last Friday’s prices. It will return to the normal Thursday schedule next week.
Fourth of July travelers and barbecue-goers got a break at the pump before the festivities as more Southland gas stations posted prices below $4 a gallon, according to the Automobile Club of Southern California's Weekend Gas Watch. The state average is $3.979 a gallon for regular today – 4.7 cents lower than last week.
The average price of self-serve regular gasoline in the Los Angeles-Long Beach area is $4.039 per gallon, which is 5.3 cents less than last Friday, 4 cents higher than last month, and 31 cents higher than last year. In San Diego, the average price is $4.019, which is 5.5 cents below last Friday, 5 cents above last month, and 31 cents higher than last year. On the Central Coast, the average price is $4.078, down 4.3 cents from last Friday, 1 cent higher than a month ago, and 27 cents more than last year. In the Inland Empire, the average per-gallon price is $4.013, down 4.5 cents from last Friday, 4 cents higher than last month, and 31 cents more than last year.
“The 2.3 million Southern Californians driving to holiday destinations this week did have to pay about $5 more for a 15-gallon tank of gas than at this time last year, but luckily prices have been dropping,” said Auto Club spokesperson Jeffrey Spring. “Wholesale prices have risen again this week by about 20 cents on news of increased exports from local refineries and lower supply in Southern California. We’re not yet sure what impact that will have on retail prices.”
The Weekend Gas Watch monitors the average price of gasoline. As of 9 a.m. on July 5, averages are:
Area |
Regular |
One-week change
|
Record Price
|
Los Angeles – Long Beach |
$4.039 |
-5.3 cents |
$4.705 (10/9/12) |
|
|
|
|
Orange County |
$4.017 |
-5.8 cents |
$4.690 (10/8/12) |
|
|
|
|
San Diego |
$4.019 |
-5.5 cents |
$4.725 (10/8/12) |
|
|
|
|
Santa Barbara – Santa Maria – Lompoc |
$4.078 |
-4.3 cents |
$4.709 (6/21/08) |
|
|
|
|
Riverside – San Bernardino |
$4.013 |
-4.5 cents |
$4.688 (10/8/12) |
|
|
|
|
Bakersfield |
$3.959 |
-4.4 cents |
$4.648 (10/9/12) |
|
|
|
|
Ventura |
$4.041 |
-5.3 cents |
$4.689 (10/7/12) |