Auto Club: Gas Prices Climb for the Ninth Straight Week

    LOS ANGELES--March 8, 2002--Moderate price increases were recorded again last week, marking the ninth consecutive week that the price of regular unleaded gasoline has risen, according to the Weekend Gas Watch, compiled by the Automobile Club of Southern California.
    The Weekend Gas Watch monitors the average price of gasoline at popular destinations for motoring trips.
    Currently, the average price of self-serve regular unleaded gasoline in the Los Angeles-Long Beach area is $1.363 per gallon, which is 3.7 cents above last week's price. In San Diego the price is $1.425, which is 2.5 cents higher than last week's level. Motorists in the central coast have an average price of $1.442, which is 3.2 cents above last week's price.
    The price for L.A.-Long Beach is 8.2 cents higher than prices a month ago; however, it is 25 cents below the price at this time last year.
    "The switchover to warm weather gasoline blends has begun in California, which for the past two years has signaled rapid price increases in the past," said Auto Club spokesperson Jeffrey Spring.
    "However, we've only experienced moderate increases for the past nine weeks and while prices will continue to gradually increase, there is absolutely no reason to believe that we will experience the same price escalations that occurred last year."

Average prices as of 12:01 a.m., March 8:

Area                     Regular Change from last week  Record Price

Los Angeles-Long Beach   $1.363     +3.7 cents        $2.036 (5/25)

San Diego                $1.425     +2.5 cents        $2.025 (5/29)

Santa Barbara
-Santa Maria-Lompoc      $1.442     +3.2 cents        $2.069 (5/16)

Las Vegas, NV            $1.261     +1.9 cents        $1.885 (3/27/00)

Phoenix-Mesa, AZ         $1.065     +0.2 cents        $1.720 (5/30)