RIVERSIDE (CNS) – The average price of a gallon of self-serve regular gasoline in Riverside County resumed increasing Tuesday, rising four-tenths of a cent to $4.744, its highest amount since Dec. 4.

The average price dropped one-tenth of a cent Sunday and was unchanged Monday following a 24-day streak of increases totaling 31 cents, according to figures from the AAA and Oil Price Information Service. It is 2.8 cents more than one week ago and 31.3 cents higher than one month ago but 5.2 cents less than one year ago.

The average price has dropped $1.629 since rising to a record $6.373 on Oct. 5, 2022.

The national average price dropped for the 29th time in 31 days, decreasing eight-tenths of a cent to $3.357. It has dropped 15.3 cents over the past 31 days, including three-tenths of a cent Monday.

The national average price is 4.5 cents less than one week ago, 15.3 cents lower than one month ago and 25.3 cents below what it was one year ago. It has dropped $1.659 since rising to a record $5.016 on June 14.

“The national average has resumed its decline after a pause last week as oil and wholesale gasoline prices fell on worrisome inflation figures showing the Fed likely to ramp up rates to slow inflation,” said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, which provides real-time gas price information from more than 150,000 stations.

“Some nine out of 10 states saw declines over the last week, so the drops are showing up for most across the country, with the exception of the West Coast as the transition to summer blends continues, and in the Great Lakes, where prices cycled last week but have now resumed declining.

“For the weeks ahead, tradition tells us to expect prices to move up eventually, but that could be at least be partially offset by inflationary data that continues to be hotter than expected, leading to anxiety that the Fed will boost interest rates and cooling the economy and oil demand considerably.”

Average Riverside County Gas Price Rises Slightly