Average Riverside County gas price rises for 13th consecutive day

RIVERSIDE (CNS) - The average price of a gallon of self-serve regular gasoline in Riverside County rose today for the 13th consecutive day, increasing six-tenths of a cent to $5.581.

The average price has risen 34.6 cents over the past 13 days, including 1.2 cents Sunday, according to figures from the AAA and Oil Price Information Service. It is 17.7 cents more than one week ago, 28.1 cents higher than one month ago and $1.269 greater than one year ago.

The average price has increased $1.03 since the start of the joint U.S./Israel attack on Iran on Feb. 28, which sent oil prices higher and drastically accelerated increases at the gas pump.
The national average price was unchanged, remaining at $4.11, one day after an 11-day streak of increases totaling 25.2 cents ended with a decrease of one-tenth of a cent. It is 10.7 cents more than one week ago, 23.2 cents higher than one month ago and 96.5 cents greater than one year ago.

The national average price has increased $1.128 since the attack on Iran.

``Average gasoline and diesel prices rose in nearly every state over the last week, as continued escalations between the U.S. and Iran, renewed Houthi attacks in the Red Sea, and fresh Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil refineries combined to keep upward pressure on both crude and refined product markets,'' Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, which provides real-time gas price information from more than 150,000 stations, said in a statement Monday.

``However, a weekend pullback in hostilities offered some relief, with oil prices opening sharply lower Sunday, suggesting the pace of increases at the pump may moderate in the days ahead. For now, motorists should expect prices to remain elevated, but the intensity of further gains will depend heavily on how the geopolitical situation develops in the coming week.''