The average price of a gallon of self-serve regular gasoline in Riverside County rose Saturday for the 12th time in the last 13 days, increasing eight-tenths of a cent to $4.551, its highest amount since Dec. 9.
The average price has risen 12.4 cents over the past 13 days, including 1.1 cents Friday, according to figures from the AAA and Oil Price Information Service. It is 5.7 cents more than one week ago and 18.5 cents higher than one month ago, but 10.9 cents less than one year ago.
The average price has dropped $1.822 since rising to a record $6.373 on Oct. 5.
“Last Friday, Oil Price Information Service stated that California refineries have reported higher-than-usual planned maintenance as well as unplanned outages in recent weeks, yet gasoline inventories have apparently risen at the same time, indicating possible slower demand,” said Doug Shupe, the Automobile Club of Southern California’s corporate communications manager.
“This week’s pump price increases appear to be mainly related to the refineries switching to summer-blend fuel, which pushed up wholesale prices since it is more expensive to produce.”
The national average price fell for the 14th consecutive day following a 17-day streak of increases, dropping seven-tenths of a cent to $3.424. It is 5.8 cents less than one week ago, 15.7 cents higher than one month ago, and 5.6 cents less than one year ago. The national average price has dropped $1.592 since rising to a record $5.016 on June 14.