Average SoCal gas prices drop for 21st consecutive day amid early use of winter blend
LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- The average price of a gallon of self-serve regular gasoline in Los Angeles, Orange and Riverside counties dropped Friday for the 21st consecutive day.
In L.A. County, the price point dropped 3.5 cents to $5.631. The average price has dropped 68.4 cents over the past 21 days, including 3.7 cents Thursday, according to figures from the AAA and Oil Price Information Service.
The decreasing prices follow a run of 23 increases in 25 days totaling 91.8 cents that boosted the average price to its highest amount since Oct. 11, 2022.
The average price is 21.4 cents less than one week ago, 43.8 cents lower than one month ago and 29.4 cents below what it was one year ago. It has dropped 86.3 cents since rising to a record $6.494 on Oct. 5, 2022.
The Orange County average price also dropped for the 21st consecutive day, decreasing 4.3 cents to $5.445. It has dropped 84.3 cents over the past 21 days, including 3.6 cents Thursday.
The Orange County average price is 20.5 cents less than one week ago, 60 cents lower than one month ago and 34 cents below what it was one year ago. It has dropped $1.014 since rising to a record $6.459 on Oct. 5, 2022.
"Local gas prices still have plenty of room to move downward because of the early introduction of winter blend gasoline, which was approved late last month by the state to help alleviate a supply crisis," said Doug Shupe, the Automobile Club of Southern California's corporate communications manager.
"Today's average prices are about 30 cents higher than during the Labor Day holiday weekend and more than $1.50 a gallon higher than at the beginning of this year."
The Riverside County average gas price dropped for the 21st consecutive day, decreasing 4.3 cents to $5.488. The average price has dropped 66.3 cents over the past 21 days, including 3.1 cents Thursday.
The national average price dropped for the 22nd consecutive day and 30th time in 32 days, decreasing seven-tenths of a cent to $3.558. It has dropped 32.3 cents over the past 32 days, including 1 cent Thursday.
The national average price is 7 cents less than one week ago, 31.7 cents less than one month ago and 27.8 cents less than one year ago. It has dropped $1.458 since rising to a record $5.016 on June 14, 2022.
Fifty years after the 1973 Arab oil embargo, the current crisis in the Middle East has the potential to disrupt global oil supplies and push prices higher. But don't expect a repeat of the catastrophic price hikes and long lines at the gasoline pump, experts say.
The Israel-Hamas war is "definitely not good news" for oil markets already stretched by cutbacks in oil production from Saudi Arabia and Russia and expected stronger demand from China, the head of the International Energy Agency said.
Markets will remain volatile, and the conflict could push oil prices higher, "which is definitely bad news for inflation," Fatih Birol, executive director of the Paris-based IEA, told The Associated Press.
The Associated Press and City News Service contributed to this report.
