Pass Area Gas Prices Spike: Where To Find The Cheapest Gas Near You

BANNING, CA — The average price of a gallon of self-serve regular gasoline in Riverside County rose nine-tenths of a cent Sunday to $5.834, its highest amount since Oct. 8, 2023.

The cheapest Gas in Banning, according to Gas Buddy, is at $5.99 per gallon at the Ramsey Street ARCO and Mobile Station on Highland Springs. The Chevron at 290 N. Highland Springs was selling regular gasoline at $6.09 per gallon.

In Beaumont, regular gasoline was selling at $5.65 per gallon at the Sixth Street and Beaumont Avenue stations as of Monday.

The average price has increased 60 of the last 61 days, rising $1.693, including 1 cent Saturday, according to figures from the AAA and Oil Price Information Service. It is 9.6 cents more than one week ago, $1.283 more than one month ago and $1.20 more than one year ago. It is 53.9 cents less than the record $6.373 set on Oct. 5, 2022.

Prices were rising slightly in line with seasonal norms before the joint U.S./Israel attack on Iran on Feb. 28 sent oil prices higher and drastically accelerated increases at the gas pump.

"Southern California gas prices are following a similar pattern to the spike we saw after Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022," Kandace Redd, the Automobile Club of Southern California's senior public affairs specialist, said in a statement released Thursday.

"Today marks 27 days since the Iran conflict began, and the Los Angeles average gas price has risen by $1.26 a gallon since then. During the same number of days after the Russia-Ukraine war began, the Los Angeles average gas price rose by $1.19 a gallon to an average price of over $6 a gallon."

Elsewhere in the county, Palm Desert's Sam's Club was selling unleaded at $5.08 per gallon Sunday evening, and the Palm Desert Costco at Dinah Shore Drive was most recently priced at $5.15 per gallon of regular, unleaded.

In Southwest Riverside County, even "cheap regular gas" at Temecula's Cosco was selling for $5.49 per gallon. Murrieta's Sam's Club is selling regular gas at $5.45 per gallon.

Lake Elsinore's Cosco, Sinclair, Gulf and Vons are all selling regular gas at $5.59 per gallon.

The national average price ticked up four-tenths of a cent to $3.98, after dropping slightly for three consecutive days. It is 3.8 cents more than one week ago, 99.8 cents more than one month ago and 82.1 cents more than one year ago. It is $1.036 less than the record $5.016 set on June 14, 2022.