Average Riverside County Gas Price Rises for Sixth Time in Eight Days

RIVERSIDE (CNS) – The average price of a gallon of self-serve regular gasoline in Riverside County rose Tuesday for the sixth time in eight days, increasing four-tenths of a cent $4.835. The average price has increased 6.6 cents over the past eight days, including seven-tenths of a cent Monday, according to figures from the AAA and the Oil Price Information Service. It is 4.5 cents more than one week ago, but 3.3 cents less than one month ago and 95.8 cents less than one year ago. The average price has dropped $1.538 since rising to a record $6.373 on Oct. 5. The national average price rose for the 14th consecutive day, increasing four-tenths of a cent to $3.608. It has increased 17.3 cents over the past 14 days, including three-tenths of a cent Monday. The national average price is 10.1 cents more than one week ago and 13.4 cents higher than one month ago, but 50.6 cents less the one year ago. It has dropped $1.408 since rising to a record $5.016 on June 14. "The national average price of gasoline has continued its relatively slow climb, with 44 states seeing average gasoline prices climb over the last week," said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, which provides real-time gas price information from more than 150,000 stations. "Prices are being pulled up not only due to continued increases in demand as temperatures warm, but also pressure from oil prices, which have risen over 20% in the last month, primarily driven by OPEC’s surprise decision a week ago to cut oil production. "Expect the upward trend to continue through much of the rest of spring, but once the transition to summer gasoline and refinery maintenance are behind us, April and May jumps could bring June slumps." Copyright 2023, City News Service, Inc.