No Love For Drivers As Gas Prices Leap 30 Cents In Two Weeks

The Southern California spring gas price spike is in full swing, erasing all the price declines since New Year’s Day and raising prices by an average of 3 cents a day during the last week in most areas, according to the Automobile Club of Southern California's Weekend Gas Watch. The retail state average is $2.712 a gallon for regular today, 18.5 cents more than last week.

The average price of self-serve regular gasoline in the Los Angeles-Long Beach area is $2.774 per gallon, which is 20.8 cents more than last week, 16 cents more than last month, and 95 cents lower than last year. In San Diego, the average price is $2.738, which is 21.2 cents more than last week, 14 cents higher than last month, and 99 cents lower than last year. On the Central Coast, the average price is $2.751, 17.1 cents more than last week, 5 cents higher than a month ago, and $1 less than last year. In the Inland Empire, the average per-gallon price is $2.722, up 22.6 cents from last week, 14 cents more than last month, and 98 cents less than last year.

“Local gas prices have risen by 30 cents or more as wholesale prices rocketed back to their levels of late November and early December, when average pump prices were $3.15 to $3.20 a gallon,” said Auto Club spokesman Jeffrey Spring. “Another week of increases like this one would bring average prices back over $3 a gallon. We advise drivers to shop around using online services such as the AAA app. As of today, some stations are still charging $2.40 a gallon in the San Diego area and $2.50 a gallon in Orange and Los Angeles counties.”

The Weekend Gas Watch monitors the average price of gasoline. As of 9 a.m. on Feb. 12, averages are: