The average price of a gallon of self-serve regular gasoline in San Diego County rose 2.3 cents Friday to $5.734, after increasing by at least 10 cents for three consecutive days and six of the past seven.
The smallest increase since March 1 is the result of oil prices beginning dropping Wednesday after the United Arab Emirates announced it would increase oil production and "encourage other OPEC members to do the same," said Doug Shupe, the Automobile Club of Southern California's corporate communications and programs manager.
Crude oil costs account for slightly more than half of the pump price, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
"However, locally there appears to be an issue with the Torrance PBF refinery after a power outage has caused five days of `unplanned flaring' there, which is a sign of a breakdown that could disrupt gas supply," Shupe said. "It remains to be seen whether that will continue to drive pump prices up even if oil prices drop more."
The average price has risen 17 consecutive days, increasing 99 cents, including 10.9 cents Thursday and 11.9 cents Wednesday, its second-largest increase since July 14, 2015, according to figures from the AAA and Oil Price Information Service. It has also set records for 17 consecutive days.
The average price is 63 cents more than one week ago, $1.033 higher than one month ago and $1.902 greater than one year ago.
