LA Auto Club: Gas Prices Soar to New Monthly High
LOS ANGELES--Aug. 1, 20057, 2005--Southern California's average price for regular gasoline catapulted 18 cents during the past month to hit a new all-time record monthly average, according to the Automobile Club of Southern California monthly Fuel Gauge Report.The Southern California August average price for regular self-serve gasoline is $2.774, which compares to a July 19 average of $2.592. This shatters the prior all-time monthly average record of $2.642 set in April 2005. The new record also exceeds the August 2004 average by more than 66 cents.
"Traders and speculators have driven up the price of crude oil and gasoline over concerns about continued high demand in the face of refinery outages and international terror issues," said Auto Club spokeswoman Carol Thorp. "On this speculation, crude oil, which was declining a month ago, made an about face and has reached new highs in the $66 per barrel range.
"One way consumers can reduce the amount of money they spend on fuel is to moderate their driving habits, keep their vehicle well maintained, combine errands on the weekends and shop for the lowest price," added Thorp. "We'd also recommend they look into carpooling, van pooling or using transit."
Statewide, the average price for August is $2.773, up from $2.589 in July. The lowest average price in California is in La Habra, where regular is selling for $2.651. Palm Springs reported the state's highest average price at $2.866. Nationally, the average price is $2.564, up from $2.314 in July.
In Southern California, the averages for regular and premium grades of gasoline are listed below:
County/City Unl 8-17 Unl 7-19 Pre 8-17 Pre 7-19 Imperial County El Centro 2.808 2.619 2.959 2.819 Inyo County Bishop 2.817 2.655 2.943 2.769 Kern County Bakersfield 2.723 2.545 2.949 2.719 Ridgecrest 2.859 2.499 2.719 2.551 Los Angeles County Alhambra 2.684 2.502 2.799 2.839 Arcadia 2.765 2.589 2.968 2.689 Burbank 2.761 2.597 2.863 2.939 Culver City 2.822 2.657 2.999 2.799 Glendora 2.692 2.494 2.960 2.756 Inglewood 2.753 2.569 2.832 2.766 Lancaster 2.744 2.582 2.949 2.721 Long Beach 2.720 2.569 2.896 2.755 Los Angeles 2.788 2.606 2.907 2.659 Manhattan Beach 2.749 2.571 2.894 2.439 Montebello 2.779 2.543 2.679 2.619 Santa Clarita 2.799 2.643 2.959 2.999 Santa Monica 2.861 2.662 3.199 2.715 Van Nuys 2.675 2.540 2.834 2.567 Whittier 2.703 2.552 2.730 2.843 Woodland Hills 2.789 2.612 2.992 2.605 Orange County Anaheim 2.697 2.530 2.789 2.535 Fullerton 2.674 2.493 2.799 2.729 Huntington Beach 2.719 2.535 2.919 2.679 La Habra 2.651 2.469 2.869 2.899 Laguna Beach 2.835 2.672 2.979 2.839 Newport Beach 2.826 2.655 3.030 2.804 San Clemente 2.824 2.608 2.989 2.789 Tustin 2.772 2.593 2.959 2.792 Riverside County Blythe 2.939 2.709 2.889 2.799 Hemet 2.785 2.602 2.939 2.799 Palm Springs 2.866 2.689 2.998 2.679 Riverside 2.703 2.505 2.842 2.769 San Bernardino County Redlands 2.672 2.520 2.875 2.556 San Bernardino 2.732 2.555 2.774 2.597 Victorville 2.831 2.639 2.849 2.821 San Diego County Chula Vista 2.785 2.588 2.974 2.839 Del Mar 2.824 2.639 2.999 2.780 Escondido 2.717 2.531 2.917 2.839 Oceanside 2.788 2.650 3.009 2.861 San Diego 2.807 2.639 3.006 2.817 San Luis Obispo County San Luis Obispo 2.873 2.691 3.049 2.879 Santa Barbara County Lompoc 2.843 2.649 2.992 2.789 Santa Barbara 2.854 2.720 2.912 2.840 Santa Maria 2.844 2.664 3.039 2.859 Tulare County Porterville 2.726 2.549 2.817 2.619 Visalia 2.761 2.590 2.999 2.597 Ventura County Ventura 2.747 2.571 2.864 2.668 So. Calif. Avg. 2.774 2.593 2.919 2.745
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.
