SoCal gas prices are up again, but not as much as other areas

Retail gasoline prices have risen for a third straight week, according to the Automobile Club of Southern California’s Weekend Gas Watch. But motorists might find some solace in the fact that it could be worse. They could be living in New York City or Chicago or Detroit, to name a few other big cities.

“Oil prices are still in the $85-$90 a barrel range and providing some upward pressure to gas prices,” said Auto Club spokesman Jeffrey Spring. “However, other states have seen much larger price increases over the past month. Drivers in Chicago are now paying $3.98 on average – higher than any Southland area, while New York City drivers are paying $3.91 on average and Detroit gas is averaging $3.87.”

The situation is a little better here, but not by much. The average price of self-serve regular gasoline in the Los Angeles-Long Beach area is $3.853 per gallon, which is 2.3 cents more than last week, 10.7 cents higher than last month and 4 cents higher than last year.

In the Inland Empire, the average per gallon price is $3.816, up 3 cents from last week, 10.2 cents higher than last month and 2 cents more than last year.

On the Central Coast, the average price is $3.884, up 2.2 cents from last week, 7.2 cents higher than a month ago and 2 cents above last year.

In San Diego, the price is $3.838, 2.8 cents above last week, 11.6 cents above last month and 2 cents higher than last year.

The Auto Club numbers come from the AAA Fuel Gauge Report, which uses as a source the daily retail receipts from more than 100,000 service stations. The numbers are compiled by the Oil Price Information Service and by Wright Express.

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