LOS ANGELES (CNS) - The average price of a gallon of self-serve regular gasoline in Los Angeles County was at its highest amount to close a year since 2013 today despite dropping 55 times in 56 days.
The average price dropped four-tenths of a cent Tuesday to $3.615, its lowest amount since Aug. 30, according to figures from the AAA and Oil Price Information Service. It is 2.3 cents less than one week ago and 23.6 cents lower than one month ago but 22.4 cents more than one year ago.
The Orange County average price was also at its highest amount to close a year since 2013, $3.545, despite dropping 54 times in 57 days, including three-tenths of a cent on Tuesday. It is nine-tenths of a cent less than one week ago and 23.4 cents lower than one month ago but 19.6 cents more than one year ago,
The increases from last year were caused by a 12-cent state tax increase that went into effect July 1, higher cap-and-trade credit costs for refineries and a price spike in the fall when shortages were caused by refinery outages and no imported gasoline was available, according to Marie Montgomery, a public relations specialist with the Automobile Club of Southern California.
Photo: Getty Images