When could SoCal drivers see gas prices go down? It may be sooner than you think, expert says
Southern California drivers are still spending less than those in the northern part of the state.
RIVERSIDE, Calif. (KABC) -- Gas prices in California continue to edge upward, with AAA reporting another record high average price of $4.70 per gallon statewide.
That's up about $0.20 from this time last month, and up about $1.52 from this time last year.
"We haven't started to see any relief yet in Southern California," said Patrick De Haan, the head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, who added that even though wholesale gas prices in Southern California had dropped about $0.15 over the past week, drivers have yet to see that savings reflected at the pump.
"Every station flips its tanks every three to five days, meaning stations are getting access to those lower prices after about three to five days on average," he said. "So stations may not be passing along any decreases, though I think the increases should start to quickly taper off."
So when could things change?
"We should start to see prices falling maybe by some point just ahead of Thanksgiving, so long as everything holds," said De Haan.
Filling up your car in California is now costing you more than ever as gas prices reach record highs
Until then, people are doing everything they can to save. A big rig driver was spotted filling up at a local Costco.
Because that Costco limits customers to $150 per transaction, he had to gas up several times to completely fill his tanks, making an already long line of cars perhaps even longer.
Southern California drivers are still spending less than those in the northern part of the state.
Drivers in Los Angeles County are filling up for about $0.01 below the state average price per gallon. Meanwhile, drivers in the Inland Empire are filling up for about $0.08 less than the state average.
