The average price of a gallon of self-serve regular gasoline in Los Angeles County rose 1.1 cents Saturday to $5.971, its highest amount since Oct. 9, 2023.
The average price has increased 37 of the last 38 days, including two-tenths of a cent Friday, according to figures from the AAA and Oil Price Information Service. It is 17.3 cents more than one week ago, $1.277 more than one month ago and $1.26 more than one year ago. It is 52.3 cents less than the record $6.494 set on Oct. 5, 2022.
The Orange County average price rose 1.3 cents to $5.912, one day after a 56-day streak of increases ended with a decrease of four-tenths of a cent. The Orange County average price is the highest it’s been since Oct. 6, 2023, and is 14.4 cents more than one week ago, $1.276 more than one month ago and $1.239 more than one year ago. It is 54.7 cents less than the record $6.459 on Oct. 5, 2022.
Prices were rising slightly in line with seasonal norms before the joint U.S./Israel attack on Iran on Feb. 28 sent oil prices higher and drastically accelerated increases at the gas pump.
“Southern California gas prices are following a similar pattern to the spike we saw after Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022,” Kandace Redd, the Automobile Club of Southern California’s senior public affairs specialist, said in a statement released Thursday.
“Today marks 27 days since the Iran conflict began, and the Los Angeles average gas price has risen by $1.26 a gallon since then. During the same number of days after the Russia-Ukraine war began, the Los Angeles average gas price rose by $1.19 a gallon to an average price of over $6 a gallon.”
The national average price dropped for the third consecutive day, decreasing two-tenths of a cent to $3.976, following a 25-day streak of increases that boosted it to its highest amount since Aug. 11, 2022. The national average price is 5.1 cents more than one week ago, 99.4 cents more than one month ago and 81.9 cents more than one year ago. It is $1.04 less than the record $5.016 set on June 14, 2022.