LA Auto Club: Monthly Gas Price Average Climbs High
LOS ANGELES--Feb. 14, 2006--While gasoline prices have stayed flat for the past week, a comparison from January to February shows a 27-cent increase in the average price of a gallon of gasoline in Southern California, according to the Automobile Club of Southern California monthly Fuel Gauge Report. Since Dec. 20, 2005, prices have climbed nearly 34 cents due to speculation over international oil production uncertainty.The Southern California February average price for regular self-serve gasoline is $2.628 which is up from a Jan. 11, 2006 price of $2.357.
"The month-to-month gas price hike was driven primarily by increasing oil prices and speculation over adequate production," said Auto Club spokesperson Carol Thorp. "Higher gasoline and oil inventories have eased these concerns. However, when gas stations begin to sell the more expensive summer blend fuel in March, prices may start to increase again."
Statewide, the average price for February is $2.560, up 20 cents from $2.360 in January. The all-time record high of $3.054 was set on Sept. 9, 2005. The lowest average price in Southern California is in La Habra, where regular is selling for $2.462. Blythe reports the region's highest average price at $2.838.
Nationally, the average price is $2.292, down from $2.322 in January. The state with the highest gas price average is Hawaii at $2.863.
In Southern California, the averages for regular and premium grades of gasoline are listed below:
County/City Reg 2-14-06 Reg 1-10-06 Pre 2-14-06 Pre 1-10-06 Imperial County El Centro 2.728 2.474 2.911 2.449 Inyo County Bishop 2.699 2.397 2.855 2.749 Kern County Bakersfield 2.600 2.332 2.793 2.409 Ridgecrest 2.584 2.399 2.688 2.443 Los Angeles County Alhambra 2.581 2.280 2.729 2.556 Arcadia 2.615 2.360 2.826 2.432 Burbank 2.588 2.300 2.819 2.299 Culver City 2.687 2.426 2.888 2.479 Glendale 2.577 2.290 2.759 2.479 Glendora 2.567 2.279 2.765 2.559 Inglewood 2.572 2.308 2.789 2.399 Lancaster 2.641 2.332 2.811 2.428 Long Beach 2.596 2.306 2.777 2.500 Los Angeles 2.631 2.344 2.799 2.518 Manhattan Beach 2.639 2.327 2.839 2.588 Montebello 2.589 2.310 2.767 2.189 Santa Clarita 2.576 2.312 2.786 2.499 Santa Monica 2.641 2.376 2.811 2.759 Van Nuys 2.567 2.276 2.744 2.395 Whittier 2.550 2.278 2.733 2.297 Woodland Hills 2.632 2.346 2.832 2.519 Orange County Anaheim 2.514 2.262 2.666 2.334 Fullerton 2.502 2.227 2.655 2.342 Huntington Beach 2.528 2.243 2.739 2.432 La Habra 2.462 2.225 2.666 2.419 Laguna Beach 2.669 2.419 2.889 2.635 Newport Beach 2.654 2.348 2.877 2.565 San Clemente 2.677 2.414 2.866 2.487 Tustin 2.610 2.333 2.802 2.559 Riverside County Blythe 2.838 2.559 3.033 2.599 Hemet 2.655 2.373 2.811 2.309 Palm Springs 2.704 2.359 2.939 2.603 Riverside 2.607 2.304 2.776 2.507 San Bernardino County Redlands 2.606 2.277 2.799 2.556 San Bernardino 2.616 2.318 2.789 2.370 Victorville 2.692 2.332 2.856 2.306 San Diego County Chula Vista 2.599 2.394 3.788 2.591 Del Mar 2.759 2.466 2.911 2.649 Escondido 2.543 2.336 2.733 2.588 Oceanside 2.616 2.394 2.810 2.699 San Diego 2.639 2.392 2.848 2.684 San Luis Obispo County San Luis Obispo 2.694 2.488 2.888 2.724 Santa Barbara County Lompoc 2.758 2.481 2.959 2.757 Santa Barbara 2.798 2.492 2.977 2.506 Santa Maria 2.735 2.488 2.911 2.526 Tulare County Porterville 2.612 2.419 2.819 2.505 Visalia 2.610 2.385 2.789 2.633 Ventura County Ventura 2.609 2.349 2.787 2.402 So. Calif. Avg. 2.628 2.357 2.835 2.505
The Auto Club's Fuel Gauge Report is based on data gathered from monitoring fuel transactions at 2,800 Southern California gas stations. Oil Price Information Service -- the nation's most comprehensive source of petroleum pricing information, provides the data. Editors, for regional average daily fuel prices nationwide, please go to www.fuelgaugereport.com.