A four-day streak of decreases to the average price of a gallon of self-serve regular gasoline in Riverside County totaling 1.4 cents ended Friday with an increase of four-tenths of a cent to $5.98.
The brief streak of decreases followed a run of 24 increases in 25 days totaling 28.5 cents to a record $5.99, according to figures from the AAA and Oil Price Information Service.
The average price is a half-cent less than one week ago but 27.5 cents more than one month ago and $1.868 higher than one year ago. It has risen $1.265 since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine Feb. 24 “sent shock waves through the oil market that have kept oil costs elevated,” said Andrew Gross, an AAA national public relations manager.
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.
The national average price dropped one-tenth of a cent to $4.599 after back-to-back increases of one-tenth of a cent pushed the price to its 15th record in 17 days.