The average price of a gallon of self-serve regular gasoline in Los Angeles County rose Tuesday for the 19th consecutive day, increasing 1.5 cents to $4.769, one day after rising four-tenths of a cent.
The average price has risen 23 cents over the past 19 days, according to figures from the AAA and Oil Price Information Service. The streak of rising prices began one day after the end of a 20-day streak of decreases totaling 21.8 cents that dropped the average price to its lowest amount since Jan. 24, 2023.
The average price is 6.8 cents more than one week ago, 12.8 cents higher than one month ago and 6 cents greater than what it was one year ago. It has dropped $1.725 since rising to a record $6.494 on Oct. 5, 2022.
The Orange County average price rose for the 18th time in 19 days, increasing 1.1 cents to $4.732. It has risen 30.2 cents over the past 19 days, including two-tenths of a cent Monday. The Orange County average price rose nine consecutive days, was unchanged Feb. 4 and resumed increasing the following day.
The Orange County average price is 9.1 cents more than one week ago, 20.3 cents higher than one month ago and 6.8 cents greater than what it was one year ago. It has dropped $1.727 since rising to a record $6.459 on Oct. 5, 2022.
The national average price rose for the seventh consecutive day, increasing 2.9 cents to $3.225. It has risen 8 cents over the past seven days, including seven-tenths of a cent Monday.
The national average price is 15.4 cents more than one month ago but 19.1 cents less than one year ago. It has dropped $1.791 since rising to a record $5.016 on June 14, 2022.
“We’ve seen the national average price of gasoline inching higher now for three straight weeks, but I’m afraid the worst is yet to come,” said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, which provides real-time gas price information from more than 150,000 stations.
“With several major refinery issues persisting across various regions, the eventual transition to summer gasoline is likely to continue to put upward pressure on prices, with larger weekly increases likely coming in March and April.
“While I feel optimistic that the rise in prices will be merely average, the fact that we’ve already seen a few high-level refinery problems doesn’t bode well for the spring squeeze, and is a reminder to motorists that without the critical role that refineries play, we could see a bumpy transition to EPA-mandated summer gasoline.”