The average price of a gallon of self-service regular gasoline in Riverside County rose Tuesday for the fifth consecutive day after dropping to its lowest amount since Jan. 27, increasing 1.1 cents to $4.439.
The average price has increased 4.7 cents over the past five days, including a half-cent both Sunday and Monday, according to figures from the AAA and Oil Price Information Service. The streak of increases follows a 10-day streak of decreases totaling 6.7 cents.
The average price is 3.5 cents more than one week ago but 5.9 cents less than one month ago and $1.396 lower than one year ago, It has dropped $1.934 since rising to a record $6.373 on Oct. 5, 2022.
The national average price rose seven-tenths of a cent to $3.181, one day after a nine-day streak of decreases totaling 5 cents ended with an increase of one-tenth of a cent. It is 2.3 cents less than one week ago, 9.2 cents lower than one month ago and 52.8 cents below what it was one year ago.
The national average price has dropped $1.835 since rising to a record $5.016 on June 14, 2022.
“While the national average dipped slightly in the last week, Iran’s attack on Israel has at least temporarily caused oil prices to surge to the highest level in months, which could cause the declines to cease for now and could lead to a rise in gas prices for many Americans,” said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, which provides real-time gas price information from more than 150,000 stations.
“In addition to the escalation in the Middle East, hurricane season remains active, with Hurricane Milton now heading toward a likely landfall in Florida. Motorists in most areas can expect to see more increases in gas prices primarily due to tensions in the Middle East, but I remain hopeful that a $2.99 national average remains possible this fall.”