The average price of a gallon of self-serve regular gasoline in Los Angeles County rose today for the 26th consecutive day, increasing 1 cent to $4.298 – still the highest in the state, according to the Automobile Club of Southern California.
The average price has increased 54.8 cents during the 26-day streak, the longest since a 27-day streak from Feb. 7-March 4, 2012, according to AAA.
The average price is 12.9 cents more than one week ago, 55.2 cents higher than one month ago and 23.8 cents greater than one year ago.
The increasing prices are the result of reduced supplies caused by low levels of production in Southern California stemming from refinery maintenance, said officials with AAA.
The national retail gasoline price has risen 43 cents, or 13 percent, to $3.73 a gallon since Jan. 17, according to AAA.
“Right now, things are tight worldwide,” Ray Carbone, president of New York commodities trading firm Paramount Options told CNN Money. “Refineries going down, unanticipated maintenance and higher demand … going into driving season.”
OPEC, the powerful cartel of petroleum exporting countries, is also believed to have cut production by about 1 million barrels a day in the last few months, partly in response to rising oil production elsewhere, notably the United States, CNN Money reported.
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