Average price of gas in Los Angeles County rises to highest amount since 2019
LOS ANGELES - The average price of a gallon of self-serve regular gasoline in Los Angeles County rose Wednesday for the 15th consecutive day and 35th time in 36 days, increasing 1.6 cents to $3.681, its highest amount since Dec. 14, 2019.
The average price has increased 33.3 cents in the past 36 days, including 1.5 cents on Tuesday, according to figures from the AAA and Oil Price Information Service. It is 12.5 cents more than one week ago, 28 cents higher than one month ago and 11.4 cents greater than one year ago.
The Orange County average price rose for the 16th consecutive day and 49th time in 50 days, increasing 1.1 cents to $3.672, its highest amount since Dec. 7, 2019. It has increased 44.8 cents in the last 50 days, including 2.3 cents on Tuesday.
The Orange County average price is 13 cents more than one week ago, 29.1 cents higher than one month ago and 15.3 cents greater than one year ago.
"One of the major factors behind rising gas prices in Southern California is trader activity in the futures markets, an indicator that traders see California gasoline as a good investment because it historically goes up in the spring," said Marie Montgomery, a public relations specialist with the Automobile Club of Southern California.
"There's not a lot of actual return of gasoline demand to pre-pandemic levels, but traders are predicting it will pick up once vaccine distribution is more widespread."
Get your top stories delivered daily! Sign up for FOX 11’s Fast 5 newsletter. And, get breaking news alerts in the FOX 11 News app. Download for iOS or Android.