An eight-day streak of decreases to the average price of a gallon of self-serve regular gasoline in Los Angeles County after hitting a record high ended Monday when it was unchanged, remaining at $4.69.
The average price dropped 2.6 cents during the streak, including three- tenths of a cent both Saturday and Sunday, according to figures from the AAA and Oil Price Information Service. The streak of decreases followed a run of 16 increases in 18 days totaling 12.5 cents that boosted the average price to a record $4.716 Nov. 27.
The average price is 2.1 cents less than one week ago but 10.1 cents more than one month ago and $1.538 higher than one year ago.
A run of eight decreases in nine days to the Orange County average price totaling 2.7 cents ended when it rose one-tenth of a cent to $4.663. The run followed an 18-day streak of increases totaling 14.4 cents that boosted the average price to $4.689, one-tenth of a cent less than the record high of $4.69 set Oct. 8, 2012.
The Orange County average price is 2.2 cents less than one week ago but 12.1 cents more than one month ago and $1.536 higher than one year ago.
The dropping pump prices are the result of a significant drop in the price of crude oil and “because this is traditionally the time of year with the lowest demand,” said Jeffrey Spring, the Automobile Club of Southern California’s corporate communications manager.
The price of a barrel of West Texas intermediate crude on the New York Mercantile Exchange has dropped 21.72% from its 52-week high of $84.65 hit Oct. 26, 2021, to $66.26 Friday.
Crude oil costs account for slightly more than half of the pump price, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
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