LOS ANGELES (CNS) - The average price of a gallon of self-serve regular gasoline in Los Angeles County rose two-tenths of a cent today for the second consecutive day.
The average price has risen nine of the past 11 days to $2.867 after dropping to its lowest amount since Jan. 1, 2017, according to figures from the AAA and Oil Price Information Service. It has risen 4.5 cents over the past 11 days.
The average price is 2.7 cents more than a week ago but 4.5 cents less than a month ago and $1.18 lower than one year ago. It has decreased 75 cents since the start of the year.
The Orange County average price rose for the 11th consecutive day, increasing 1.3 cents to $2.834. It has risen 6.4 cents over the past 11 days, including four-tenths of a cent on Friday after dropping 68 of the previous 70 days to its lowest amount since Dec. 28, 2016, decreasing 74.9 cents.
The Orange County average price is 4.1 cents more than one week ago but 4.8 cents less than one month ago and $1.184 lower than one year ago. It has dropped 71.1 cents since the start of the year.
``Vehicle traffic in Southern California has increased incrementally over the past few weeks, and refineries are still producing gasoline at a much lower rate compared to last year to help draw down inventory,'' said Jeffrey Spring, the Automobile Club of Southern California's corporate communications manager.
``Combine these trends with an increase in oil prices, and the result is that gas prices changed course over the past week and increased.''
Refineries decreased production because ``demand evaporated in late March and April" as driving reduced because of Gov. Gavin Newsom's stay-at-home order, Spring said.
``If refiners had continued at higher capacity that they were running at, they would have soon run out of storage capacity, because few people were buying gasoline," Spring told City News Service. ``Reduced production reduces inventory and helps to balance out the system."
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