Riverside County gas prices pass $4.00
The average price of a gallon of self-serve regular gasoline in Riverside County surpassed the $4 mark today for the first time since Aug. 1, 2015, increasing a half-cent to $4.002.
The average price has risen for 31 consecutive days and 36 of the past 37, increasing 73.4 cents, including four-tenths of a cent on Monday, according to figures from the AAA and Oil Price Information Service.
The average price is 17.4 cents more than one week ago, 72.5 cents higher than one month ago and 47.1 cents greater than one year ago.
The rising prices are the result of a series of refinery issues that have reduced supply, according to Jeffrey Spring, the Automobile Club of Southern California’s corporate communications manager.
The recent smaller increases stem from a drop in wholesale prices based “on information that some supply from outside California will be arriving soon” to ease the shortage, Marie Montgomery of the Automobile Club of Southern California told City News Service.
“However, I wouldn’t expect prices at the pump to actually reverse course and drop soon,” Montgomery said.