The average price of a gallon of self-serve regular gasoline in San Diego County dropped a half-cent Tuesday to $4.64, one day after a run of 14 increases in 16 days totaling 10.8 cents ended when it was unchanged.
The average price is 5.8 cents more than one week ago and 8.6 cents higher than one month ago, but 3.9 cents less than one year ago, according to figures from the AAA and Oil Price Information Service. It has dropped $1.795 since rising to a record $6.435 on Oct. 5.
The national average price fell for the 10th consecutive day following a 17-day streak of increases, dropping 1.3 cents to $3.457. It is 4.8 cents less than one week ago but 17.2 cents more than one month ago and 1.6 cents higher than one year ago.
The national average price has decreased 5.3 cents over the past 10 days after rising 24.3 cents during the 17-day streak of increases. It has dropped $1.559 since rising to a record $5.016 on June 14.
“For the first time in 2023, the national average price of gasoline has seen a weekly decline, primarily thanks to a sharp and sudden drop in the price of oil,” said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, which provides real-time gas price information from more than 150,000 stations.
“While the decline in both gasoline and diesel prices is terrific, it’s not unusual to see prices falling in February, which tends to be the month with some of the lowest gasoline prices of the year thanks to seasonally weak demand. For now, motorists should enjoy the decline, but be wary as we’re likely to eventually see increases again down the road.”
City News Service contributed to this article.