As More Riverside County Drivers Hit The Road, Gas Prices Rise

RIVERSIDE COUNTY, CA — The average price of a gallon of self-serve regular gasoline in Riverside County rose Monday for the 13th consecutive day after dropping 58 times in 62 days to its lowest amount since Aug. 30, 2016.

The average price rose seven-tenths of a cent to $2.752, according to figures from the AAA and Oil Price Information Service released Monday. It has increased 9.2 cents over the past 13 days, including 1.2 cents on Sunday.

The average price is 5.1 cents more than a week ago and 2.7 cents higher than one month ago but $1.235 lower than one year ago. It has decreased 75.6 cents since the start of the year.
The average price dropped 80.6 cents during the run of 58 decreases in 62 days.

"Vehicle traffic in Southern California has increased incrementally over the past few weeks, and refineries are still producing gasoline at a much lower rate compared to last year to help draw down inventory," said Jeffrey Spring, the Automobile Club of Southern California's corporate communications manager.

"Combine these trends with an increase in oil prices, and the result is that gas prices changed course over the past week and increased."

Refineries decreased production because ``demand evaporated in late March and April" as driving reduced because of Gov. Gavin Newsom's stay-at-home order, Spring said.

``If refiners had continued at higher capacity that they were running at, they would have soon run out of storage capacity, because few people were buying gasoline," Spring told City News Service. ``Reduced production reduces inventory and helps to balance out the system."