Average gas prices dropped back below $3 a gallon in most areas of California in recent days after three consecutive weeks of price drops, according to two price surveys Friday.
“Fortunately, drivers are seeing some relief from the second-highest gas prices we’ve ever had at the beginning of the year – 2008 was the most expensive year ever,” says Jeffrey Spring, a spokesman for the Automobile Club of Southern California.
“But we’re still seeing prices that are 40 to 50 cents higher per gallon than they were at this time in 2007, which was the third most expensive February on record for unleaded fuel,” he says.
Gasoline prices are said to be dropping because of less demand and high inventories.
Here are Central Valley market averages on Feb. 5, 2010, driving from south to north, as reported by the American Automobile Association with last week’s (Jan. 29) averages in parentheses and [Jan. 22] prices in brackets:
• Bakersfield, $3.045 ($3.083) [$3.084]
• Visalia-Porterville, $2.999 ($3.027) [$3.048]
• Fresno, $2.966 ($3.000) [$3.028]
• Merced, $2.943 ($2.979) [$2.995]
• Modesto, $2.887 ($2.947) [ $2.964]
• Stockton-Lodi, $2.910 ($2.964) [$2.986]
• Sacramento, $2.924 ($2.979) [$3.017]
• Yolo, $2.889 ($2.934) [$2.953]
• Yuba City, $2.803 ($2.853) [$2.913]
• Chico, $2.855 ($2.943) [$2.962]
The market average price of self-serve regular gasoline in the Los Angeles-Long Beach area on Feb. 5 is $2.989, which is 3.9 cents less than last week. In San Diego, it’s $2.988, which is 3.6 cents under last Friday, the AAA says.
The highest market average price in the state on Feb. 5 is the usual place, San Francisco, where it is $3.067, down 2.9 cents from last week, the Triple A says.
Those three gas stations on the west side of Bakersfield that for weeks have claimed the crown of having the highest gas price in the state have been dethroned on Feb. 5. They lose out by a penny to a convenience store in Hesperia (“Gateway to the High Desert”) which is posted $3.80 per gallon, compared to the set-in-concrete $3.79 at the Bakersfield trio, according to the website Gasbuddy.com.
The lowest market average price in California on Feb. 5 is Yuba City’s $2.803, the AAA says. That’s down a nickel in a week, but a year ago today, it was a “mere” $2.190.
What might be California’s lowest price on Feb. 5 is $2.61, an all-cash price, found at an Arco station in Linda, in Yuba County, as reported by a GasBuddy price spotter.
The nation’s lowest price spotted on Feb. 5 is found in Laramie, Wyo., at $2.26, according to GasBuddy.
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Methodologies
GasBuddy bases its figures on reports from volunteer “price spotters” reporting specific locations in the U.S. and Canada. They are not independently confirmed.
The AAA’s prices are market averages for self-serve regular grade (87 octane) gasoline. They are calculated daily from credit card purchases and compiled by the Oil Price Information Service and Wright Express.
Not every station is surveyed and not every market is included in either report. Both price surveys note that there can be wide variations within any market.
Gasoline prices throughout California are higher than the national average and usually among the highest in the nation. That is due in part to taxes and a state law mandating a special blend of fuel to reduce polluting emissions.
