Plummeting prices at Southland gas pumps have brought averages below this time last year for the first time in 2012, 60 cents below their highest point of this year and 50 cents lower than a month ago, according to the Automobile Club of Southern California’s Weekend Gas Watch.
The average price of self-serve regular gasoline in the Los Angeles-Long Beach area is $3.793 per gallon, which is 13.2 cents less than last week, 51 cents lower than last month, and 5 cents lower than last year. In San Diego, the price is $3.774, 11.8 cents below last week, 51 cents below last month, and 4 cents lower than last year. On the Central Coast, the average price is $3.854, down 13.1 cents from last week, 49 cents lower than a month ago, and three-tenths of one cent below last year. In the Inland Empire, the average per gallon price is $3.767, down 12.1 cents from last week, 51 cents lower than last month, and 5 cents less than last year.
“Fourth of July travel by Southern Californians is projected to increase 5.2 percent from 2011, and these gas price drops will put more money back into travelers’ budgets,” said Auto Club spokesperson Jeffrey Spring. “The year-to-date average price paid in Los Angeles is now $4.12 a gallon.”
The Weekend Gas Watch monitors the average price of gasoline. As of 9 a.m. on June 28, averages are:
Area | Regular | One-week change | Record Price |
Los Angeles – Long Beach | $3.793 | -13.2 cents | $4.626 (6/21/08) |
Orange County | $3.751 | -12.9 cents | $4.598 (6/19/08) |
San Diego | $3.774 | -11.8 cents | $4.630 (6/19/08) |
Santa Barbara – Santa Maria – Lompoc | $3.854 | -13.1 cents | $4.709 (6/21/08) |
Riverside – San Bernardino | $3.767 | -12.1 cents | $4.614 (6/22/08) |
Bakersfield | $3.865 | -11.8 cents | $4.591 (6/24/08) |
Ventura | $3.794 | -12.6 cents | $4.625 (6/18/08) |