The average price of a gallon of self-serve regular gasoline in Los Angeles County dropped Wednesday to its lowest amount since Dec. 22, 2024, decreasing 1.8 cents to $4.392, one day after dropping 1.9 cents.
The average price is 3.7 cents less than one week ago, 24 cents lower than one month ago and 5.3 cents below what it was one year ago, according to figures from the AAA and Oil Price Information Service. It has dropped $2.102 since rising to a record $6.494 on Oct. 5, 2022.
The Orange County average price dropped to its lowest amount since July 3, 2021, decreasing 1.3 cents to $4.282. It is 2.7 cents less than one week ago, 26.5 cents lower than one month ago and 11.4 cents below what it was one year ago.
The Orange County average price has dropped $2.177 since rising to a record $6.459 on Oct. 5, 2022.
The national average price rose for the second consecutive day following a five-day streak of decreases totaling 2.7 cents, increasing four-tenths of a cent to $2.819. It is 2 cents less than one week ago, 13.6 cents lower than one month ago and 24.9 cents below what it was one year ago.
The national average price has dropped $2.197 since rising to a record $5.016 on June 14, 2022.
“The world has spent years recovering from the economic whiplash of the pandemic and the shock of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, but the situation has been improving quietly since 2022,” Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, which provides real-time gas price information from more than 150,000 stations, said in a statement released Monday.
“As global central banks slammed the brakes on an overheated economy and new refining capacity came online, we’ve seen fuel prices ease year after year — a trend few would’ve bet on when chaos ruled the energy market. And 2026 keeps that momentum going. It’s not a return to ultra-cheap fuel, but for the first time in a long time, the wind is clearly behind drivers’ backs.
“If the market avoids major surprises, sustained averages below $3 per gallon could become commonplace in the year ahead.”