Southern California drivers are once again watching pump prices climb, with average gas prices in both Los Angeles and Orange Counties nearing their all-time record highs. As of Saturday, the average price of a gallon of self-serve regular gasoline in Los Angeles County hit $6.387, an increase of 5.1 cents from Friday. This marks the highest price since October 10, 2022, and places the county's average just 10.6 cents shy of its record of $6.493, set on October 5, 2022.
This climb isn't new; average prices across Los Angeles County have now risen for 39 consecutive days, adding 74.5 cents during that period, including a 5.4-cent jump on Friday alone. These prices are now 20.3 cents higher than a week ago, 69.3 cents more than a month ago, and a substantial $1.665 greater than they were one year prior. The steep increase began around February 28, following what figures from AAA and Oil Price Information Service describe as the start of a "joint U.S./Israel war on Iran," which reportedly "sent oil prices higher and drastically accelerated increases at the gas pump." Since then, the average price has increased by $1.693.
Orange County mirrors this trend closely. Its average price of self-serve regular gasoline reached $6.369 after a 4.6-cent increase, putting it just 8.9 cents away from its record of $6.458, also set on October 5, 2022. This is the highest Orange County average since October 7, 2022. Similar to its neighbor to the north, Orange County has experienced 39 consecutive days of rising prices, with an increase of 79.4 cents over that time, including a 5.8-cent rise on Thursday. Compared to previous periods, Orange County's average is 20.9 cents more than a week ago, 72 cents higher than a month ago, and $1.677 greater than one year ago. The average price in Orange County has increased by $1.733 since the aforementioned war on Iran began.
In contrast to the rapid increases seen locally, the national average price for a gallon of self-serve regular gasoline dropped four-tenths of a cent to $4.487 after two days of increases. While the national average is up by $1.505 since the start of the conflict, its weekly increase was only 1.2 cents, and its daily rise over the past week was less than two-tenths of a cent. For Southern California, the Los Angeles County average price rose 2.9 cents per day over the past week, and Orange County's average increased by nearly 3 cents per day.
Explaining the current situation, AAA noted that "typically, the start of autumn brings lower gas prices," but attributes the current surge to "lingering volatility in the Strait of Hormuz and the high cost of crude oil." Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, a service that tracks real-time gas prices, observed that the national average price is currently "at its highest amount this late in the calendar year."
