Palm Desert Gas Prices Skyrocket: How Much Is Too Much For Gasoline?

PALM DESERT, CA — Whether finding a carpool, walking to work, taking the bus, or working from home, Riverside County residents seek reprieve from rising gas prices.

Palm Desert and San Jacinto stations are selling fuel for among the lowest prices in the Inland Empire, at $5.29 per gallon, in Palm Desert at the Costco and Sam's Club, and in San Jacinto at the Roadrunner Express on Lake Park Drive and Soboba Road.

Our go-to cheap gas in Temecula, at the area Costco, is far from affordable at $5.59 per gallon of regular, self-serve gasoline. In Murrieta, Costco and Sam's Club sell regular gasoline for the same $5.59 per gallon. Lake Elsinore's Costco is slightly higher in price, at $5.64 per gallon, but is still the cheapest for Wildomar, Canyon Lake, and Lake Elsinore residents.

In the Pass Area and across the Inland Empire, fuel prices are slightly higher, at $5.69 at the East First Street ARCO station and the USA Gas Station on 401 E. Sixth Street, both in Beaumont.

According to the AAA and Oil Price Information Service, the average price of a gallon of unleaded gasoline has risen 18 times in the past 20 days, reaching an average of $ 5.95. That's a total of 66.3 cents in the past 20 days.

Last year, the average price of regular unleaded in Riverside County reached $6.73 on Oct. 5, leaving the community wondering if fuel prices will continue to rise over the last week of September 2023.

By comparison, the national average price of similar fuel is $3.849 per gallon, and California's average is $5.828 per gallon.

Have we reached the top of the fuel prices? Not yet, according to Andrew Gross, an AAA spokesperson.

"The recent drop in the national average, while small, is fairly typical this time of year as much of the country makes the switch to less expensive winter blend gasoline," Gross said in a recent news release. "But the gradual seasonal decline in pump prices is being slowed by higher oil costs, hovering around $90 a barrel."

Corporate fuel executives have predicted the barrel prices rising to $100 per unit, but Chevron CEO Mike Worth told Fortune Magazine: "We can handle it."

Are you altering your driving routes due to high fuel prices? Let us know in the comments.