The average price of a gallon of self-serve regular gasoline in Riverside County dropped for the 24th consecutive day Monday, falling six-tenths of a cent to $5.885.
The average price has dropped 44.4 cents over the past 24 days, including 1.2 cents Sunday, 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 totaling 80.9 cents that brought the average price within 4.4 cents of its record, $6.373 set Oct. 5, 2022.
The average price is 15.9 cents less than one week ago and 39.2 cents less than one month ago, but $1.358 more than one year ago. It has increased $1.334 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 dropping prices are the result of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s announcement Sept. 28 that cheaper winter-blend gasoline would be allowed to be sold immediately instead of the customary Nov. 1 date.
The national average price dropped four-tenths of a cent to $4.285. It is 1 cent less than one week ago and 20.2 cents less than one month ago, but $1.232 more than one year ago. The national average price has increased $1.303 since the attack on Iran.
“Average gasoline prices fell in a majority of states over the last week, though a fresh spike in the Great Lakes driven by a regional refinery issue nearly offset the broader decline, with that situation now beginning to clear up,” Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, which provides real-time gas price information from more than 150,000 stations, said in a statement.
“With the national average for gasoline likely to remain above $4 per gallon … heading into the U.S. election, the relief motorists and policymakers have been hoping for remains elusive — even as states have moved to cut fuel taxes and the Trump administration has pulled virtually every lever available.”