LOS ANGELES (CNS) - The average price of a gallon of self-serve regular gasoline in Los Angeles County rose 1.3 cents today to $4.06, its highest amount since Nov. 13, 2019.
The average price has risen 18 of the past 20 days, increasing 8.8 cents, including four-tenths of a cent Wednesday, according to figures from the AAA and Oil Price Information Service. It is 3.4 cents more than one week ago, 11.4 cents higher than one month ago and $1.226 greater than one year ago.
The average price has risen 82.8 cents since the start of the year, mainly because of a run of 59 increases in 60 days totaling 57.9 cents that ended March 21.
The Orange County average price rose 1.4 cents to $4.035, its highest amount since Nov. 10, 2019. It is 3.8 cents more than one week ago, 11.3 cents higher than one month ago and $1.234 greater than one year ago.
The Orange County average price has risen 82.7 cents since the start of the year, mainly because of a run of 72 increases in 73 days totaling 68.1 cents that ended March 20.
Production of California gasoline is down by about 1% from the previous week and inventory is down by nearly 4%, according to the weekly report issued Wednesday by the California Energy Commission.
The PBF Energy refinery in Torrance and Marathon Petroleum's refinery in Carson ``are planning maintenance-related outages in the next few days, which could add more upward pressure to gas prices,'' said Marie Montgomery, a public relations specialist with the Automobile Club of Southern California.
The large price increase from one year ago is the result of a significant decrease during the early stage of the coronavirus pandemic, when driving and demand dropped substantially because of stay-at-home orders intended to reduce the spread of the virus.
The Los Angeles County average price is 6.4 cents less than it was on April 29, 2019, while the Orange County average price is 6.2 cents less.
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