The average price of a gallon of self-serve regular gasoline in Los Angeles County dropped a half-cent Tuesday to $4.458 after three consecutive increases totaling six-tenths of a cent.
The average price is seven-tenths of a cent less than one week ago, 9.2 cents lower than one month ago and 54.8 cents below what it was one year ago, according to figures from the AAA and Oil Price Information Service.
The average price has dropped $2.036 since rising to a record $6.494 on Oct. 5, 2022.
The Orange County average price was unchanged, one day after a run of five increases in six days totaling 1.6 cents ended with a decrease of four-tenths of a cent. It is seven-tenths of a cent more than one week ago but 8.4 cents less than one month ago and 46.6 cents lower than one year ago.
The Orange County average price has dropped $2.076 since rising to a record $6.459 on Oct. 5, 2022.
The national average price rose 1.1 cents to $3.067 after remaining unchanged two of the previous three days. It is four-tenths of a cent more than one week ago but 6.9 cents less than one month ago and 18.6 cents lower than one year ago.
The national average price has dropped $1.949 since rising to a record $5.016 on June 14, 2022.
“Ahead of Thanksgiving, motorists continue to be teased by the prospect of a $2.99 per gallon national average, a level now seen in 32 states, but for the last few weeks, the stars just haven’t quite aligned,” said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, which provides real-time gas price information from more than 150,000 stations.
“Last week, Russia’s threats after Ukraine used long-range U.S. missiles pushed oil prices back above $70 per barrel. Some promotions ahead of Thanksgiving are pushing gas prices back down, even as oil remains elevated. For now, we’re just pennies away from the national average falling to $2.99, but for a third year, we may again fall short.
“As Americans prepare to hit the road for Thanksgiving, we’re seeing the lowest national average price of gasoline since 2021, with a far better economic picture than when gas prices were last this low.”