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Auto Club: Gas Prices Drop Significantly for the First Time Since June

Weekly Fuel Prices Report

(LOS ANGELES, August 25, 2006) — Gasoline prices in most Southern California areas dropped by nearly a penny a day over the past week, and some individual stations in the Los Angeles–Orange County area listed prices below $3 a gallon for the first time since June, 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 $3.183, which is five cents lower than last week, nine cents lower than last month and 39 cents higher than last year. In San Diego, the price is $3.189, 6.1 cents below last week's price, 12 cents below last month and 37 cents above last year. On the Central Coast, the average price is $3.355, down 3.8 cents from last week, six cents below last month and 46 cents higher than last year. In the Inland Empire, the average price is $3.205, down 5.6 cents from last week, ten cents below last month and 52 cents higher than last year.

"This summer has not copied the patterns of the last few years, which saw prices drop significantly in June and July, then rise rapidly in August," said Auto Club spokesperson Carol Thorp. "Southern California drivers saw some brief relief in June when pump prices retreated from all-time records in May, but the downturn quickly ended in July. We are just now returning to the price levels we were paying at the end of June."

The Weekend Gas Watch monitors the average price of gasoline as of 12:01 a.m., August 25:

Area

Regular

Change from
last week

Record Price

Los Angeles–Long Beach

$3.183

- 5.0 cents

$3.402 (5/13/2006)

Orange County

$3.148

- 5.0 cents

$3.371 (5/17/2006)

San Diego

$3.189

- 6.1 cents

$3.438 (5/15/2006)

Santa Barbara–Santa Maria- Lompoc

$3.355

- 3.8 cents

$3.491 (5/16/2006)

Riverside–San Bernardino

$3.205

- 5.6 cents

$3.445 (5/15/2006)

Bakersfield

$3.158

- 4.9 cents

$3.450 (5/16/2006)

Las Vegas , NV

$2.993

- 2.4 cents

$3.176 (5/17/2006)

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The Automobile Club of Southern California is a member club affiliated with the American Automobile Association (AAA) national federation and serves members in the following California counties: Inyo, Imperial, Kern, Los Angeles, Mono, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Tulare, and Ventura.