The average price of a gallon of self-serve regular gasoline in Los Angeles County dropped 1.1 cents Tuesday to $6.407, its fifth consecutive decrease after a 44-day streak of increases that brought it within 5.4 cents of its all-time record.
The average price is 1.5 cents less than one week ago, but 51 cents more than one month ago and $1.68 more than one year ago, according to figures from the AAA and Oil Price Information Service. It has increased $1.713 since the start of the joint U.S./Israel war on Iran on Feb. 28, which sent oil prices higher and drastically accelerated increases at the gas pump.
The record average price is $6.493 set Oct. 5, 2022.
The Orange County average price dropped 2 cents to $6.354, its fifth consecutive decrease after a run of 42 increases 44 days pushed it within 5.3 cents of its record high. The Orange County average price is 4.6 cents less than one week ago, but 48 cents more than one month ago and $1.656 more than one year ago. It has increased $1.718 since the start of the war on Iran.
The Orange County record average price is $6.458 set Oct. 5, 2022.
The dropping prices are the result of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s announcement last week that cheaper winter-blend gasoline would be allowed to be sold immediately instead of on the customary Nov. 1 date.
A 10-day streak of decreases to the national average price ended with an increase of three-tenths of a cent to $4.368. It is 8.7 cents less than one week ago, but 22.1 cents more than one month ago and $1.235 more than one year ago. The national average price has increased $1.386 since the attack on Iran.
“The average gasoline prices fell in 48 states over the last week, with diesel declining in 48 states as well, as a broad-based retreat brought relief to motorists across much of the country,” Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, which provides real-time gas price information from more than 150,000 stations, said in a statement Monday.
“Declines may continue in a majority of states, though some price-cycling markets are at risk of an upward swing in gas prices in the days ahead. While oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz are rising, refineries behind the strait are not yet fully able to move products through, keeping gasoline and diesel prices elevated relative to what crude oil levels alone might suggest,” he continued.