Auto Club: March Gas Prices Are Marching Upward

LOS ANGELES--March 10, 2006--Gas prices continued the reversal they started last week when they began rising again, with some significant price jumps occurring in many areas at the end of this week, according to the Automobile Club of Southern California's Weekend Gas Watch.

The average price of self-serve regular gasoline in the Los Angeles-Long Beach area is $2.580, which is 7.4 cents higher than last week, 3 cents lower than last month and 30 cents higher than last year. In San Diego, the price is $2.591 -- 6.1 cents above last week's price, 2 cents below last month and 30 cents above last year. On the Central Coast, the average price is $2.678, up 5.1 cents from last week, 6 cents lower than last month and 30 cents higher than last year. In the Inland Empire, the average price is $2.595, up 7 cents from last week, 3 cents below last month and 28 cents higher than last year.

"In the last couple of days, prices have been going up by 2 or 3 cents in a 24-hour period," said Auto Club spokesperson Carol Thorp. "This is likely the same type of rapid price increase that has happened in Southern California every spring of this decade."

The Weekend Gas Watch monitors the average price of gasoline as of 12:01 a.m., March 10:

Area                          Regular   Change from    Record Price
                                         last week
Los Angeles-Long Beach         $2.580    +7.4 cents  $2.999 (9/6/2005)

Orange County                  $2.545    +7.8 cents  $2.970 (9/6/2005)

San Diego                      $2.591    +6.1 cents  $3.060 (9/5/2005)

Santa Barbara-Santa Maria-
 Lompoc                        $2.678    +5.1 cents  $3.111 (9/7/2005)

Riverside-San Bernardino       $2.595    +7.0 cents  $3.030 (9/9/2005)

Bakersfield                    $2.560    +5.0 cents  $3.167 (9/9/2005)

Las Vegas                      $2.423    +2.1 cents  $2.968 (9/8/2005)