As Orange County residents hit the road for spring break, the price of a gallon of regular gas rose Monday to a 14-month high of $4.28, a 17-cent jump from one week ago, according to the Automobile Club of Southern California.
The last time the county saw prices this high was in March last year, when prices were declining from a high of $4.31 per gallon on Feb. 27, according to AAA spokesman Jeffrey Spring.
Prices have risen every day since March 10, Spring said, a trend that is expected to continue in the short term. “Wholesale prices have continued upward in recent days, so motorists could expect more increases in the next few days.”
Wholesale prices in Southern California have increased by about 41 cents since April 1. Wholesalers were spooked, Spring explained, when some of the larger refineries took longer than usual to regain higher production levels after switching from a winter blend to a summer blend of gas.
Two other factors have contributed to rising gasoline prices, including more output for international exports and a decline in the number of rail cars available to move ethanol throughout the country.
Spring expects prices to top off sooner rather than later. “We have seen that refinery production is increasing, so that might point to a peak soon,” he said.
And Memorial Day travelers shouldn’t be overly concerned – yet. AAA has found that in past years, prices decrease by the holiday, when refineries are typically done with maintenance.
“If there aren’t any refinery problems on the West Coast or big trouble in the Middle East that pushes the price of oil upward or a host of other variables, then I wouldn’t expect a second, higher spike,” Spring said.
Orange County prices are 64 cents higher than the national average of $3.64 a gallon, and 17 cents more than the highest-recorded average price in the nation: $4.11, set on July 17, 2008. By comparison, Los Angeles residents are paying one penny more than Orange County residents, while Riverside consumers are paying $4.23 a gallon.
The lowest price for a gallon of regular unleaded in the county on Monday was $3.99 at Costco stores in Fullerton and La Habra, according to OrangeCountyGasPrices.com. The most expensive gallon was $4.43 at a Mobil station on San Joaquin Hills Road and San Miguel Drive in Corona Del Mar.
Contact the writer: 714-796-3589 or ksablan@ocregister.com
