Traffic & Transit
Gas Prices Drop In Santa Monica For 66th Consecutive Day
Los Angeles County residents continued to see relief at the pump Friday as the average price for a gallon of gas dropped closer to $5.
SANTA MONICA, CA — Santa Monica residents continued to see relief at the pumps Friday as prices dropped for the 66th consecutive day, reaching $5.345.
Los Angeles County prices have been inching closer to $5 per gallon for months; the average price per gallon has dropped by 58 cents in just a month.
Los Angeles County still sat far above the national average of $3.918 per gallon, and California’s average price was $5.33 Friday.
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Los Angeles County’s neighbors didn’t fare so well at the pump Friday. The Orange County average price rose for the first time since June 12, increasing nine-tenths of a cent to $5.239. It dropped for 58 consecutive days, was unchanged last Friday and resumed dropping Saturday. The increase was the largest since a 1.7-cent increase June 10.
Despite the increase, the Orange County average price is 6.4 cents less than one week ago and 59.2 cents lower than one month ago. It is 87.4 cents more than one year ago.
Find out what's happening in Santa Monicawith free, real-time updates from Patch.
"Southern California gas prices are now at their lowest levels since March shortly after the Ukraine war began, and they are also less than a dollar higher than a year ago today in many areas, which has not happened since April 2021," said Doug Shupe, the Automobile Club of Southern California's corporate communications and programs manager.
The cheapest gas in California could be found in Yurba County in northern California at $5.050 per gallon Friday. Topping the state was Alpine County in eastern California, which sits inside the Sierra Nevada.
Drivers in the United States still seem to be waiting for bigger drops before returning to the road, according to AAA spokesperson Andrew Gross. Even still, the demand for gas is rising.
“Falling pump prices may eventually lead to more drivers hitting the road again,” Gross said in a news release. “But that hasn’t happened yet. Instead, many drivers are waiting for prices to fall further before reverting to their typical driving habits.”
City News Service contributed to this report.
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