Holiday Travelers Will Spend More To Gas Up

Editors note: Look for the video Weekend Gas Watch interview on City News Service this morning, with local commentary for Los Angeles, San Diego and Coachella Valley.

Southern California gas prices have moved up slowly in the last few days and are expected to continue increasing before the July Fourth holiday, according to the Automobile Club of Southern California's Weekend Gas Watch. The retail state average is $4.117 a gallon for regular today, 1.6 cents more than last week.

The average price of self-serve regular gasoline in the Los Angeles-Long Beach area is $4.153 per gallon, which is 1.9 cents more than last week, unchanged from last month, and 3 cents higher than last year. In San Diego, the average price is $4.119, which is 1.5 cents more than last week, one-tenth of a cent higher than last month, and 1.2 cents higher than last year. On the Central Coast, the average price is $4.159, up 1.2 cents from last week, six-tenths of a cent higher than a month ago, and 1.8 cents more than last year. In the Inland Empire, the average per-gallon price is $4.114, up 1.8 cents from last week, six-tenths of a cent less than last month, and 3.4 cents more than last year.

“Two Southern California refineries have reported partial unplanned shutdowns because of equipment issues, and that has driven wholesale prices up by 20 cents in the last week,” said Auto Club spokesman Jeffrey Spring. “While we can’t predict how fast or how much they will increase, we do expect pump prices to continue rising as travelers get ready for their Independence Day getaways, so drivers might not want to wait until the last minute to get fuel.”

The Weekend Gas Watch monitors the average price of gasoline. As of 9 a.m. on June 26, averages are: