Gasoline prices in Southern California are expected to remain high this summer holiday season, driven by a surge in travel demand that began with a surge in weekend road trips. Memorial Day, experts say.
The good news is that gas prices are not likely to reach the record levels of last year, when a gallon of unleaded gasoline peaked at more than $6.
“Usually, when demand increases, gas prices go up,” said Anlleyn Venegas, a spokesperson for the American Automobile Association.
Warm temperatures and sunny skies during the summer generally encourage tourists to drive more, and numbers from Memorial Day weekend indicate that motorists may be just as willing to get behind the wheel as they were before it began. the COVID-19 pandemic, Venegas said.
Prices spiked just before Memorial Day weekend, when 2.8 million Southern Californians traveled by car, a 6% increase from 2022.
This increase in demand is reflected in the cost of gasoline. According to AAA, the average cost of a gallon of regular gasoline in Southern California is currently $4.87, about a cent higher than Tuesday and 6 cents higher than a week earlier.
In some parts of the state, the average cost of a gallon is closer to $5.
In the Los Angeles-Long Beach region, the average cost of a gallon of regular gasoline is $4.95, an increase of 7 cents from last week. In Ventura County, a gallon of regular will cost you $4.99.
That's a stark difference from the national average of $3.58 per gallon, a drop of 3 cents from the previous month.
Gasoline prices may remain high through the summer, but Venegas said there were good indicators that prices would not reach the levels of 2022, when the cost of a gallon of gasoline surpassed $6. That year, the cost reached $6.17 a gallon.
California already switched to its summer gasoline blend in April, which reduces emissions but adds 15 to 20 cents to the cost per gallon, Venegas said.
“It went up, which is normal,” he said. “As soon as summer starts, we see gas prices go up due to demand.”
The cost of crude oil is currently at $73 a barrel, which she said would likely keep prices significantly below 2022 prices.
“We don't expect gas prices to be as high as last year,” he said. “As long as crude oil prices are below $80 a barrel, gas prices should not rise as much as last year.”
