LA Auto Club: Gasoline Prices Inch Downward for Fifth Consecutive Week

    LOS ANGELES--Aug. 2, 2002--Gasoline prices continued their downward crawl throughout the southwest during the past week, 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 $1.594 per gallon, which is 1.1 cents lower than last week's price, 3.4 cents lower than last month and 13 cents lower than prices at this time last year.
    In San Diego the price is $1.619, which is five-tenths of a cent lower than last week's level, 3 cents lower than last month and 22.1 cents lower than last year. Motorists in the central coast have an average price of $1.680, which is 1.4 cents below last week's price, 3.1 cents below last month and 16.3 cents under the price last year.
    "Prices seem to be trending down for the remainder of the travel season," said Auto Club spokesperson Carol Thorp. "While refiners have been reducing production and supplies, which tends to drive prices up, a weak stock market and strong oil imports have had a moderating effect on the price of gasoline."

Average prices as of 12:01 a.m., Aug. 2:

Area                        Regular    Change from    Record Price
                                        last week

Los Angeles-Long Beach      $1.594      -1.1 cents    $2.036 (5/25/01)

San Diego                   $1.619      -0.5 cents    $2.025 (5/29/01)

Santa Barbara-Santa Maria-
Lompoc                      $1.680      -1.4 cents    $2.069 (5/16/01)

Las Vegas                   $1.503      -1.6 cents    $1.885 (3/27/00)

Phoenix-Mesa, Ariz.         $1.445      -0.7 cents    $1.720 (5/30/01)