Gas prices in Los Angeles, Orange counties drop for 6th time in 7 days
LOS ANGELES (CNS) -- The average price of a gallon of self-serve regular gasoline in Los Angeles County dropped Sunday for the sixth time in the last seven days following a long streak of increases that pushed it to record highs, declining eight-tenths of a cent to $6.422.
The decreases stem from "a plunge of nearly 60 cents on the Los Angeles wholesale gasoline market this past week'' caused by "a very volatile week for the U.S. economy and a slight downturn in consumer demand reported by the EIA, which is likely due to record high prices,'' said Doug Shupe, the Automobile Club of Southern California's corporate communications manager, referring to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
The average price set records for 16 consecutive days, then dropped one-tenth of a cent on June 13 before setting another record high on June 14, rising to $6.462. It is 3.8 cents less than one week ago, but 32.5 cents more than one month ago and $2.172 higher than one year ago, according to figures from the AAA and the Oil Price Information Service.
The Orange County price also dropped for the sixth time in seven days, falling seven-tenths of a cent to $6.36. It also set records for 16 consecutive days before dropping on June 13. The Orange County average price is 5 cents less than one week ago, but 28.4 cents more than one month ago and $2.157 higher than one year ago.
The Los Angeles County average price has increased $1.626 since Russia's invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24 "sent shock waves through the oil market that have kept oil costs elevated,'' said Andrew Gross, an AAA national public relations manager. The Orange County average price has increased $1.584.
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Crude oil costs account for slightly more than half of the pump price, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. The rest of the price includes the other components of gasoline, production costs, distribution costs, overhead costs for all involved in production, distribution and sales, taxes and carbon offset fees in California paid by the refineries.
The national average price of a gallon of self-serve regular gasoline dropped for the fifth consecutive day following an 18-day streak of increases, decreasing six-tenths of a cent to $4.983. The average price rose 41.5 cents during the 18-day streak, setting a record each day. It dropped two-tenths of a cent Wednesday, a half-cent Thursday, nine-tenths of a cent Friday and 1.1 cents Saturday.
