By STEVEN HERBERT
The average price of a gallon of self-serve regular gasoline in Los Angeles County dropped Friday by 5 cents to $6.207, its ninth consecutive decrease after rising to a record.
The average gasoline price has dropped 28.7 cents over the past nine days, including 5.4 cents Wednesday, according to figures from the AAA and Oil Price Information Service.
The average price is 25.1 cents less than one week ago but 78.9 cents more than one month ago and $1.756 higher than one year ago mainly due to a 33-day streak of increases totaling $1.248.
The Orange County average price dropped 5.2 cents Friday to $6.093. It has also dropped nine consecutive days after rising to a record, decreasing 30.4 cents, including 6.8 cents Thursday following a run of 15 increases in 16 days totaling $1.063.
The Orange County average price is 30.6 cents less than one week ago but 70.6 cents more than one month ago and $1.68 higher than one year ago.
“Gas prices would have to come down by about $1.20 a gallon from last week’s records in most areas to completely erase the spike that began in September, and there is a possibility they could drop even more if wholesale gasoline prices continue downward,” said Doug Shupe, the Automobile Club of Southern California’s corporate communications manager.
The national average price dropped 1 cent to $3.903. It is the third day in a row the national average price dropped. It rose for 11 consecutive days, dropped four-tenths of a cent Oct. 2 and resumed increasing Oct. 3 before dropping nine-tenths of a cent on Thursday.
The national average gasoline price is 1.2 cents more than one week ago, 20 cents higher than one month ago and 60.6 cents greater than one year ago.
The national average price is $1.113 less than the record $5.016 set June 14.
The run of increases follows a 98-day streak of decreases totaling $1.342 that began the day after the record was set.
