Auto Club: Gas Prices Up for Thanksgiving Travelers

LOS ANGELES, CA Nov 22, 2006; Travelers heading into the holiday weekend will see the third straight week of price increases at the pump, but will still pay about the same amount for their Thanksgiving driving trips as they did this time last year, 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 $2.489, which is three cents higher than last week, two cents lower than last month, and three cents lower than last year. In San Diego, the price is $2.538, 3.2 cents above last week's price, seven cents above last month, and less than half a cent below last year. On the Central Coast, the average price is $2.749, up 4.2 cents from last week, three cents below last month, and ten cents higher than last year. In the Inland Empire, the average price is $2.494, up 2.1 cents from last week, two cents higher than last month, and five cents higher than last year.

"Heading into this weekend, oil industry analysts have noted some wild fluctuations in both wholesale gasoline and crude oil prices, but they can't point to any single factor that caused these jumps," said Auto Club spokeswoman Carol Thorp. "If the market settles down quickly after Thanksgiving, prices at the pump should not be affected long-term."

The Weekend Gas Watch monitors the average price of gasoline as of 12:01 a.m., Nov. 22:

 
Area                                         One-week
                                  Regular     change       Record Price
Los Angeles–Long Beach            $2.489   +3.0 cents  $3.402 (5/13/2006)

Orange County                     $2.444   +3.2 cents  $3.371 (5/17/2006)

San Diego                         $2.538   +3.2 cents  $3.438 (5/15/2006)

Santa Barbara-Santa Maria-Lompoc  $2.749   +4.2 cents  $3.491 (5/16/2006)

Riverside–San Bernardino          $2.494   +2.1 cents  $3.445 (5/15/2006)

Bakersfield                       $2.547   +3.1 cents  $3.450 (5/16/2006)

Las Vegas, NV                     $2.461   +2.1 cents  $3.176 (5/17/2006)