County gas prices hit 3-year high
Refinery issues caused the average price of a gallon of self-serve regular gasoline in Riverside County to record its largest daily increase since Feb. 26, 2016, today, rising 4.4 cents to $3.393, its highest amount since Dec. 6.
The average price has risen 13 of the past 15 days, increasing 13.1 cents, including 2.7 cents on Thursday, according to figures from the AAA and Oil Price Information Service. It is 11.6 cents more than one week ago and 13.7 cents higher than one month ago but 4.1 cents less than one year ago.
“A fire (last) Friday night shut down part of the Phillips 66 Carson refinery and some planned maintenance at the Torrance refinery also put upward pressure on prices,” said Jeffrey Spring, the Automobile Club of Southern California’s corporate communications manager.
“Also, (Thursday) morning the Chevron El Segundo refinery reported unplanned flaring due to a breakdown. While the summer blend of gasoline is currently in Southern California gas pumps and that cost already has been passed along to drivers, these issues along with higher oil prices are likely to push pump prices up even further.”
