March 6, 2011 4:56 am
LOS ANGELES, March 5 — The average price of a gallon of self-serve regular gasoline continued to rise in all California cities on Friday and will reach the four-dollar-a-gallon mark soon, the American Automobile Association (AAA) said.
In Los Angeles County, gasoline price rose to its highest amount since Sept. 3, 2008, increasing 3.2 cents to 3.853 dollars, one day after increasing 3.6 cents, the AAA said.
The 30th increase in 31 days pushed the average price 18.8 cents higher than a week ago, 47.3 cents above what it was one month ago and 82.6 cents greater than it was one year ago, according to figures from the AAA and Oil Price Information Service.
In nearby Orange County, average price rose 3.9 cents to 3.844 dollars a gallon, the highest since Aug. 31, 2008.
The Orange County average price is 18.5 cents more than a week ago, 46.2 cents higher than one month ago and 82.1 cents above what it was one year ago.
The Orange County average price has increased 29 of the past 31 days, including 3.6 cents Thursday.
Analysts attribute the rising prices to increasing prices for imported crude oil stemming from the unrest in the Middle East and North Africa.
Crude oil costs account for two-thirds to three-quarters of the price of a gallon of gasoline, according to Tupper Hull of the Western States Petroleum Association, a trade association representing oil companies in six western states.
California is one of the few states most hard hit by oil price rise.
"As we get closer to the four-dollar-a-gallon mark, it's interesting to note that average prices are becoming much closer between all cities in California, even though there is usually at least a 15-cent gap in average prices between the lowest and highest-priced areas," said Jeffrey Spring of the Automobile Club of Southern California.
No comments:
Post a Comment