Already on the rise, gas prices in Los Angeles jumped another 15 cents over the last 24 hours, according to data from the American Automobile Assn.
The average price for a gallon of regular gas in the Los Angeles region reached $6.26 on Thursday morning, just 20 cents shy of the area’s record high, set earlier this summer when fuel prices continued to soar. On Wednesday, the average price was $6.108.
Gas prices were already ticking upward this week amid supply issues at refineries across the West Coast and Midwest, following an almost 100-day streak of falling gas prices nationwide.
“Planned and unplanned refinery maintenance issues have tightened fuel supply in [California],” said Anlleyn Venegas, a spokesperson for the Automobile Club of Southern California. “West Coast fuel inventories are at the lowest level in about a decade, according to [the U.S. Energy Information Administration].”
Venegas said people should expect pump prices to remain volatile until those refineries return to full operations.
The majority of California counties are looking at prices above $6 a gallon Thursday, according to AAA. The lowest average price was $5.77 in Sutter County, just north of Sacramento. Mono County, along the Nevada border, has the highest average price, at $6.84 a gallon.
The state’s average was $6.18 per gallon, which is still significantly higher than a year ago, when average prices were just below $4.40, according to AAA.
Prices across the U.S. have also been increasing, with Thursday’s nationwide average reaching $3.78, up about 10 cents from a week ago.
Venegas said Californians could begin to see some relief at the pump come November, when winter-blend fuels enter the market, which are typically cheaper to produce.
