A 13-day streak of increases to the average price of a gallon of self-serve regular gasoline in Riverside County ended Tuesday when it was unchanged, remaining at $4.626.
The average price increased 11.1 cents during the streak, including four-tenths of a cent Monday, to its highest amount since Oct. 15, 2012, according to figures from the AAA and Oil Price Information Service. It is 2.7 cents more than one week ago, 16.8 cents higher than one month ago and $1.527 greater than one year ago.
The average price is 6.2 cents shy of matching the record high of $4.688 set on Oct. 8, 2012. The 2012 figures included stations in San Bernardino County.
“Crude oil has remained below $80 per barrel since Friday which is a sign that pricing is stabilizing,” Jeffrey Spring, the Automobile Club of Southern California’s corporate communications manager, told City News Service.
“We have also seen that some markets in Northern California have dropped by a few tenths of a penny in the past couple of days so we may be near a peak in prices in California.”
On Tuesday, President Joe Biden directed Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm to release 50 million barrels of oil from the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve in an effort to stem the nationwide spike in gas prices ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday.
“Today’s decision is in response to the highest oil prices experienced in seven years and aims to ensure adequate supply as we exit the pandemic,” a Department of Energy statement said. “For the first time, as the result of the president’s leadership, today’s announcement is in parallel with other major energy consuming nations including China, India, Japan, South Korea, and the United Kingdom.”