SAN DIEGO, CA -- (MARKET WIRE) -- January 19, 2007 -- Crude oil prices continued to drop dramatically in the past week, while Southern California gas prices inched down a bit faster than the snail's pace of the previous week, 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 $2.573, which is nearly a nickel lower than last week, 2 cents higher than last month, and 12 cents higher than last year. In San Diego, the price is $2.599, which is 6.6 cents below last week's price, 1.9 cents below last month, and 13 cents above last year. On the Central Coast, the average price is $2.765, down 4.2 cents from last week, 1.4 cents below last month, and 17 cents higher than last year. In the Inland Empire, the average price is $2.584, 4.8 cents below last week, 1.4 cents higher than last month, and 10.9 cents higher than last year.
"Oil industry analysts continue to state that the West Coast is an exception to the price break on fuel that the rest of the country is experiencing, due primarily to its isolation from the rest of the nation's distribution channels," said Auto Club spokesperson Carol Thorp. "This week a fire occurred at a large Chevron refinery in the San Francisco area, and that incident reminds us that western states are dependent on a relative handful of large major-operated refineries, with little immediate access to global imports."
The Weekend Gas Watch monitors the average price of gasoline as of 12:01 a.m., Jan. 19:
Area Regular One-week Record Price
change
Los Angeles - Long Beach $2.573 -4.6 cents $3.402 (5/13/2006)
Orange County $2.522 -5.1 cents $3.371 (5/17/2006)
San Diego $2.599 -6.6 cents $3.438 (5/15/2006)
Santa Barbara - Santa
Maria - Lompoc $2.765 -4.2 cents $3.491 (5/16/2006)
Riverside - San
Bernardino $2.584 -4.8 cents $3.445 (5/15/2006)
Bakersfield $2.581 -4.9 cents $3.450 (5/16/2006)
Las Vegas, NV $2.557 +0.5 cents $3.176 (5/17/2006)
Contact Information: Contact: Elaine Beno Jeffrey Spring (714) 885-2333