No Relief For Los Alamitos-Seal Beach As Gas Prices Skyrocket

ORANGE COUNTY, CA — A 72-cent spike in the cost of gas over the last couple months is taking a toll on Southern California drivers, and there is little relief on the horizon.

For the 29th straight day the average price of a gallon of self-serve regular gasoline in Orange County rose three-tenths of a cent of a cent Tuesday. The average price has risen 71.8 cents during the streak to $4.04. Orange County residents haven't seen gas prices this high since Aug. 1, 2015, according to figures from the AAA and Oil Price Information Service.

The Orange County average price is 16.5 cents more than one week ago, 71.7 cents higher than one month ago and 47.1 cents greater than one year ago.

The good news is that the spike in gas prices is slowing, but the bad news is that there doesn't appear to be an end in sight.

The rising prices are the result of a series of refinery issues that have reduced supply, according to Jeffrey Spring, the Automobile Club of Southern California's corporate communications manager.

The recent smaller increases stem from a drop in wholesale prices based "on information that some supply from outside California will be arriving soon" to ease the shortage, Marie Montgomery of the Automobile Club of Southern California told City News Service.

"However, I wouldn't expect prices at the pump to actually reverse course and drop soon," Montgomery warned.

City News Service and Patch Staffer Paige Austin contributed to this report.