Global Courant 2023-06-01 00:14:11
Gas prices in Southern California are expected to remain high through this summer vacation season, boosted by a surge in travel demand that began with a surge in road trips this Memorial Day weekend, experts say.
The good news is that gas prices are unlikely to rise to last year’s all-time highs when a gallon of gasoline peaked at more than $6.
“Usually gas prices go up when demand rises,” said Anlleyn Venegas, spokesman for the American Automobile Assn.
Warm temperatures and sunny skies during the summer usually encourage vacationers to drive more, and numbers from this past Memorial Day weekend indicate motorists may be just as willing to get behind the wheel as they were before the COVID-19 pandemic began Venegas said.
Prices rose just before Memorial Day weekend, when 2.8 million Southern Californians traveled by car, a 6% increase from 2022.
That increase in demand is reflected in the cost of gasoline. According to the AAA, the average cost of a gallon of regular in Southern California is currently $4.87, about a cent higher than Tuesday and 6 cents higher than a week earlier.
In some parts of the state, the average cost of a gallon is nearly $5.
In the Los Angeles-Long Beach area, the average cost of a gallon of regular is $4.95, up 7 cents from last week. In Ventura County, a gallon of regular costs $4.99.
That’s a big difference from the national average of $3.58 per gallon, down 3 cents from a month earlier.
Gas prices may remain high through the summer, but Venegas said there are good indicators that prices will not reach 2022 levels, when the cost of a gallon of gas has risen above $6. That year, the cost of a gallon of gasoline reached as much as $6.17.
California already switched to its summer blend of gasoline in April, which reduces emissions but adds about 15 to 20 cents to the cost per gallon, Venegas said.
“It went up, which is normal,” she said. “Once summer starts, we see gas prices go up because of demand.”
Crude oil costs are currently at $73 a barrel, which she says is likely to keep prices significantly below 2022 prices.
“We don’t expect gas prices to be as high as last year,” she said. “As long as the price of crude oil remains below $80 a barrel, gas prices should not go as high as last year.”
