Auto Club: Ivan Re-Emerges, Causing Bump in Local Gas Prices

LOS ANGELES--Sept. 24, 2004--Hurricane Ivan's transformation into a tropical storm created uncertainty about how floods and high water would affect oil refining regions in Texas. As a result, crude oil and wholesale gasoline prices climbed higher last week, causing a 1-cent average bump in local retail gas prices, according to the Automobile Club of Southern California's Weekend Gas Watch.

The average price of self-serve regular gasoline in the Los Angeles-Long Beach area is $2.081 a gallon, which is 1 cent higher than last week, 3 cents higher than last month and 6 cents above last year. In San Diego, the price is $2.117, which is seven-tenths of a cent higher than last week, 3 cents above last month and 8 cents higher than last year. On the Central Coast, the average price is $2.245, which is down 1 cent from last week, 1 cent below last month and 13 cents higher than last year. In the Inland Empire, the average price is $2.104, which is up four-tenths of a cent from last week, 2 cents below last month and unchanged from last year.

"Tropical Storm Ivan is expected to hit the oil refining region of Southeast Texas," said Auto Club spokesperson Carol Thorp. "Production is likely to be interrupted, leading to higher crude and gasoline prices. However, we expect that the local effect of slightly higher gas prices will be brief and by next week Southern California pump prices could resume their gradual downward march."

The Weekend Gas Watch monitors the average price of gasoline as of 12:01 a.m., Sept. 24.

Area                           Regular  Change from    Record Price
                                         last week

Los Angeles-Long Beach         $2.081   +1.0 cents  $2.368 (5/28/2004)

Orange County                  $2.081   +1.0 cents  $2.353 (6/01/2004)

San Diego                      $2.117   +0.7 cents  $2.373 (5/26/2004)

Santa Barbara-Santa Maria-
 Lompoc                        $2.245   -1.0 cents  $2.489 (5/29/2004)

Riverside-San Bernardino       $2.104   +0.4 cents  $2.399 (6/01/2004)

Bakersfield                    $2.114   +0.8 cents  $2.383 (6/01/2004)

Las Vegas                      $2.042   +1.4 cents  $2.279 (5/26/2004)