The average price of a gallon of self-serve regular gasoline in San Diego County rose 4.9 cents Saturday to a record high of $5.888, its 25th consecutive increase.
The average price has risen $1.144 during the streak, including 1.9 cents Friday, according to figures from the AAA and Oil Price Information Service. It is 14.1 cents more than one week ago, $1.147 higher than one month ago and $1.98 greater than one year ago.
The average price has risen 10.1 cents over the past three days after increasing by 2.5 cents the preceding three days.
The larger increases are the result of rebounding crude oil prices caused by a lack of commitment from OPEC to raise production levels despite requests by the United States and United Kingdom, as well as a supply issue stemming from the Torrance PBF refinery having issues restarting a key unit that went offline after a March 6 power outage, according to Marie Montgomery, a public relations specialist with the Automobile Club of Southern California.
“The Torrance PBF refinery is having issues restarting a key unit that went offline after a March 6 power outage and that supply issue is continuing to put upward pressure on gas prices locally,” said Doug Shupe, the Automobile Club of Southern California’s corporate communications manager.
–City News Service, Inc.