The average price of a gallon of self-serve regular gasoline in Los Angeles County increased one-tenth of a cent Sunday to $4.676.
The average price is seven-tenths of a cent less than one week ago and 1.5 cents lower than one month ago, but $1.50 more than one year ago, according to figures from the AAA and Oil Price Information Service. It has dropped 4 cents since hitting a record high of $4.716 on Nov. 27.
The Orange County average price was unchanged for the second consecutive day at $4.644. It is eight-tenths of a cent less than one week ago and 2.1 cents lower than one month ago, but $1.48 higher than one year ago. It has dropped 4.5 cents since moving within one-tenth of a cent of equaling its record high Nov. 26.
“Gas prices are slowly dropping,” Jeffrey Spring, the Automobile Club of Southern California’s corporate communications manager, told City News Service.
“If oil prices remain around $70 per barrel, we should see prices continue to drop, but the speed at which they drop is a good guess. It could be until after the new year when we see more significant price drops.”
The price of a barrel of West Texas intermediate crude on the New York Mercantile Exchange dropped $1.52 to $70.86 on Friday. It has dropped 16.3% from its 52-week high of $84.65 hit on Oct. 26.
Crude oil costs account for slightly more than half of the pump price, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.