The average price of a gallon of self-serve regular gasoline in San Diego County rose Tuesday to its highest amount since Dec. 1, increasing 1.2 cents to $4.954, its sixth increase in seven days.
The average price has risen 4.3 cents over the past seven days, according to figures from the AAA and Oil Price Information Service. It rose five consecutive days, was unchanged Monday and resumed increasing Tuesday.
The average price is 13.5 cents more than one month ago and 5.9 cents higher than one year ago. It has dropped $1.481 since rising to a record $6.435 on Oct. 5, 2022.
The national average price rose for the seventh consecutive day, increasing 2.2 cents to $3.489. It has increased 9.5 cents over the past seven days, including sixth-tenths of a cent Monday.
The national average price is 13.5 cents more than one month ago and 5.9 cents higher than one year ago. It has dropped $1.527 since rising to a record $5.016 on June 14, 2022.
"Most Americans continued to see average gasoline prices march higher last week," said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, which provides real-time gas price information from more than 150,000 stations.
"The reason is the season: gasoline demand is rising as more Americans are getting out, combined with the summer gasoline switchover, which is well underway, and continued refinery maintenance. The madness should slow down in the next few weeks as we've seen positive data that refinery output is starting to increase, a sign that the peak of maintenance season could be behind us."
