Little change to Southland gas prices

Gasoline prices at the Shell station in Downey on Jan. 12, 2021. (Photo by Alex Dominguez)

DOWNEY — The average price of a gallon of self-serve regular gasoline in Los Angeles County dropped one-tenth of a cent Wednesday to $4.674, one day after decreasing three-tenths of a cent.

The average price is seven-tenths of a cent less than one week ago and nine-tenths of a cent lower than one month ago but $1.376 higher than one year ago, according to figures from the AAA and Oil Price Information Service.

It has dropped 4.2 cents since hitting the record high of $4.716 on Nov. 27.

The Orange County average price rose one-tenth of a cent to $4.647 after dropping by two-tenths of a cent for three consecutive days. It is six- tenths of a cent less than one week ago and a half-cent lower than one month ago but $1.375 higher than one year ago.

The Orange County average price has dropped 4.2 cents since rising to $4.689 on Nov. 26, one-tenth of a cent less than the record set on Oct. 8, 2012.

“Markets, in general, don't like uncertainty and volatility, and the oil market is no exception,'' said Andrew Gross, an AAA national public relations manager. “The oil production cuts by Kazakhstan demonstrate that in times of tight supply, it doesn't take much to put upward pressure on the overall price of oil.''

The price of a barrel of West Texas intermediate crude on the New York Mercantile Exchange has increased for 12 of the past 15 sessions to $81.22, its highest settlement value since Nov. 11.

Crude oil costs account for slightly more than half of the pump price, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
City News Service