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Business Mar 23, 2023
Gasoline pours from a pump into a plastic gas can. | Photo courtesy of Famartin/Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
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The average price of a gallon of self-serve regular gasoline in Los Angeles County dropped for the 15th consecutive day Thursday, decreasing seven-tenths of a cent to $4.854.
The average price has dropped 10.7 cents over the past 15 days, including four-tenths of a cent Wednesday, following a 35-day streak of increases totaling 39.7 cents, according to figures from the AAA and Oil Price Information Service.
It is 5.8 cents less than one week ago, 2.1 cents more than one month ago, and $1.167 less than one year ago. The average price has dropped $1.64 since rising to a record $6.494 on Oct. 5, 2022.
The Orange County average gasoline price also dropped for the 15th consecutive day, decreasing four-tents of a cent, to $4.803. It has fallen 13 cents over the past 15 days, including four-tenths of a cent Wednesday.
The Orange County average price is 6.7 cents less than one week ago and $1.173 less than one year ago. It is unchanged from a month ago. It has dropped $1.656 since rising to a record $6.459 on Oct. 5.
The national average gasoline price rose two-tenths of a cent to $3.438. It is 2.6 cents less than one week ago, 4.5 cents more than one month ago, and 79.9 cents less than one year ago. The national average price has dropped $1.578 since rising to a record $5.016 on June 14.
“The broad concern over recent failures of the U.S. and global banking system has put enough downward pressure on oil prices that we saw a reprieve in rising gasoline prices in the national average last week, but it may be temporary in nature, and is unlikely to be a long lasting trend,” said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, which provides real- time gas price information from more than 150,000 stations.
“While California and areas of the West Coast saw some moderation in price, supply challenges amidst the transition to summer gasoline have led to sharp price increases in Arizona, and other markets saw varying impacts at the gas pump over the last week,” De Haan added.
“Should the outlook for the banking sector improve, we could again see gasoline prices race higher, while continued or additional distress could raise the possibility of a broader economic slowdown, keeping gasoline prices in check.”
