The average price of a gallon of self-serve regular gasoline in Riverside County dropped for the eighth consecutive day Saturday, falling 2.3 cents to $6.213.
The average price has dropped 11.6 cents over the past eight days, including 1.9 cents Friday, according to figures from the AAA and Oil Price Information Service. The streak began one day after the end of a 44-day streak of increases that brought the Riverside County average price within 4.4 cents of its all-time record.
The average price is 11 cents less than one week ago, but 39.1 cents more than one month ago and $1.60 more than one year ago. It has increased $1.662 since the start of the joint U.S./Israel war on Iran on Feb. 28, which sent oil prices higher and drastically accelerated increases at the gas pump.
The record Riverside County average price is $6.373 set Oct. 5, 2022.
The dropping prices are the result of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s announcement that cheaper winter-blend gasoline would be allowed to be sold immediately instead of the customary Nov. 1 date.
“According to Oil Price Information Service, Los Angeles wholesale gasoline prices have plummeted in the last week after the early switch to winter blend and West Coast refiners have ramped up their production, so that could mean more significant pump price decreases in coming days,” Kandace Redd, the Automobile Club of Southern California’s senior public affairs specialist, said in a statement released Thursday.
The national average price dropped a half-cent to $4.366, its 13th decrease in the last 15 days. It is 1.4 cents less than one week ago, but 8.9 cents more than one month ago and $1.266 more than one year ago. It has increased $1.384 since the attack on Iran.
The national average price remains the highest it’s ever been for this time of year.