Southern California gas prices are once again dropping at a hefty rate as plummeting oil prices more than cancelled out the costs of the state’s carbon credit costs to refineries, according to the Automobile Club of Southern California's Weekend Gas Watch. The retail state average is $2.554 a gallon for regular today, 8.2 cents less than last week.
The average price of self-serve regular gasoline in the Los Angeles-Long Beach area is $2.574 per gallon, which is 8.9 cents lower than last week, 32 cents less than last month, and $1.09 lower than last year. In San Diego, the average price is $2.546, which is 9.3 cents less than last week, 32 cents lower than last month, and $1.11 lower than last year. On the Central Coast, the average price is $2.667, 8.6 cents less than last week, 26 cents lower than a month ago, and $1.03 less than last year. In the Inland Empire, the average per-gallon price is $2.530, down 9.3 cents from last week, 33 cents less than last month, and $1.12 less than last year.
“Los Angeles wholesale gasoline prices this week collapsed to levels not seen since December 2008 – when average retail Los Angeles gas prices were $1.70 to $1.80 per gallon,” said Auto Club spokesman Jeffrey Spring. “Drivers should be aggressively shopping for the lowest gas prices to encourage further quick drops at their local stations. A ‘good’ price for gas today is between $2.25 and $2.40 per gallon in most Southern California areas.”
As of today, 21 U.S. states have average gas prices below $2 a gallon.
The Weekend Gas Watch monitors the average price of gasoline. As of 9 a.m. on Jan. 15, averages are:
Area |
Regular |
One-week change |
Record Price |
Los Angeles – Long Beach |
$2.574 |
-8.9 cents |
$4.705 (10/9/12) |
|
|
|
|
Orange County |
$2.545 |
-9.3 cents |
$4.690 (10/8/12) |
|
|
|
|
San Diego |
$2.546 |
-9.3 cents |
$4.725 (10/8/12) |
|
|
|
|
Santa Barbara – Santa Maria – Lompoc |
$2.667 |
-8.6 cents |
$4.709 (6/21/08) |
|
|
|
|
Riverside – San Bernardino |
$2.530 |
-9.3 cents |
$4.688 (10/8/12) |
|
|
|
|
Ventura |
$2.553 |
-9.8 cents |
$4.689 (10/7/12) |
|
|
|
|
Bakersfield |
$2.641 |
-5.4 cents |
$4.648 (10/9/12) |