LA Auto Club: Mid-Summer Sees Third Straight Week of Gas Price Declines

    LOS ANGELES--July 11, 2003--For the third consecutive week, gasoline prices fell across the Southwest, according to the Automobile Club of Southern California's Weekend Gas Watch.
    Currently, the average price of self-serve regular unleaded gasoline in the Los Angeles-Long Beach area is $1.754 per gallon, which is 1.3 cents lower than last week's price, 4 cents higher than last month and 13 cents higher than last year. In San Diego, the price is $1.767, which is 1.1 cents below last week's level, 9 cents above last month and 12 cents above last year. Motorists in the central coast have an average price of $1.870, which is 1.3 cents lower than last week's price, 3 cents higher than last month and 18 cents higher than last year.
    "This is the third straight week of slow declines in prices at the pump. Since June 20, the price of regular gas has dipped 2.4 cents per gallon in the L.A. metro area," said Carol Thorp, spokesperson for the Automobile Club of Southern California. "Wholesale gasoline prices have remained steady and there is ample supply. We expect this trend to continue for at least the next week."
    The Weekend Gas Watch monitors the average price of gasoline at popular destinations for motoring trips. Average prices as of 12:01 a.m., July 11:

                                      Change from
Area                         Regular    last week      Record Price

Los Angeles - Long Beach     $1.754    -1.3 cents     $2.167 (3/22/03)

San Diego                    $1.767    -1.1 cents     $2.211 (3/20/03)

Santa Barbara - 
Santa Maria - Lompoc         $1.870    -1.3 cents     $2.207 (3/22/03)

Las Vegas, NV                $1.672    -4.3 cents     $2.063 (3/25/03)

Phoenix, AZ                  $1.619    -2.6 cents     $2.003 (3/22/03)