Inland Empire Gasoline Price Drops Under $4 For First Time Since July 13

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By City News Service

The average price of a gallon of self-serve regular gasoline in the Inland Empire dropped under $4 for the first time since July 13 on Sunday, decreasing 2.7 cents to $3.983.

The average price in Riverside and San Bernardino counties has dropped 16 consecutive days, decreasing 21.5 cents, including 3.3 cents on Saturday, the largest daily decrease since Nov. 2, 2012, according to figures from the AAA and Oil Price Information Service.

The decreases follow a nine-day streak of increases totaling 72.1 cents that pushed the average price to its highest amount since May 12, 2014.

The average price is 12.7 cents less than one week ago but 50.3 cents more than one month ago and 4.1 cents higher than one year ago.

The dropping pump prices are the result of a sharp decrease in the price of crude oil, according to Jeffrey Spring, the Automobile Club of Southern California’s corporate communications manager.

The price of crude oil accounts for two-thirds to three-quarters of the price of a gallon of gasoline, according to Tupper Hull, vice president, strategic communications of the Western States Petroleum Association, a trade association representing major oil companies in six Western states.