The average price of a gallon of self-serve regular gasoline in Riverside County rose eight-tenths of a cent Monday to a record $5.732, matching Sunday’s increase, the smallest since Feb. 28.
The average price has risen 7.5 cents over the past four days following increases of 14.2 cents Wednesday and 11 cents Thursday, according to figures from the AAA and Oil Price Information Service.
The smaller increases are the result of oil prices beginning to drop Wednesday after the United Arab Emirates announced it would increase oil production and “encourage other OPEC members to do the same,” said Doug Shupe, the Automobile Club of Southern California’s corporate communications and programs manager.
The average price is 42.8 cents more than one week ago, $1.06 higher than one month ago and $1.91 greater than one year ago. It has risen 21 consecutive days and 27 of the past 28, increasing $1.06, reaching record highs for 21 consecutive days and 25 of the past 26.
After rising to $127.98 last Tuesday, its highest amount since July 2008, the price of a barrel of Brent crude on the Intercontinental Exchange dropped three of the next four sessions, including $16.84 on Wednesday, its biggest decline in a day since April 2020, and $4.78 on Monday to settle at $102.12.
Crude oil costs account for slightly more than half of the pump price, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. The rest of the price includes the other components of gasoline, production costs, distribution costs, overhead costs for all involved in production, distribution and sales, taxes and carbon offset fees in California paid by the refineries.
Brent crude is the global oil benchmark, accounting for approximately 80% of the world’s crude oil.