The average price of a gallon of self-serve regular gasoline in Los Angeles County rose Wednesday for the fourth time in five days following a run of 39 decreases in 40 days, increasing 1 cent to $4.726.
The average price is 2.2 cents more than one week ago and 27.6 cents higher than one year ago but 27.4 cents less than one month ago, according to figures from the AAA and Oil Price Information Service.
The average price has dropped $1.768 since rising to a record $6.494 on Oct. 5, 2022.
The average price has risen 3.6 cents over the past five days. It decreased 48 cents during the run to its lowest amount since Feb. 10.
The Orange County average price rose for the fifth consecutive day following an 11-day streak of decreases totaling 12.7 cents, increasing nine-tenths of a cent to $4.606. It has risen 6.8 cents over the past five days, including four-tenths of a cent Tuesday.
The Orange County average price is 4.9 cents more than one week ago and 24.3 cents higher than one year ago but 24.1 cents less one month ago. It has dropped $1.853 from its record high of $6.459 on Oct. 5, 2022.
The national average price dropped four-tenths of a cent to $3.122 after decreasing one-tenth of a cent three of the previous four days and remaining unchanged Monday. It is 2.5 cents more than one week ago and 1.8 cents higher than one year ago, but 12.8 cents less than one month ago.
The national average price has decreased $1.894 since rising to a record $5.016 on June 14, 2022.
“After 13 straight weeks of decline, average gasoline prices have edged higher due to optimistic comments from the Fed on cutting interest rates in 2024, coupled with Houthi attacks on vessels in the Red Sea, boosting concerns of a disruption to global shipping, including oil shipments,” said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, which provides real-time gas price information from more than 150,000 stations.
“For now, the price of gasoline has already jumped but could ease slightly this week ahead of the New Year. For now, I’m optimistic that we may still have a chance of seeing the first $2.99 national average since 2021 sometime before spring arrives.”