Gas prices continue tumbling; national average dips below $4 a gallon

SOUTHLAND - (INT) - Plunging oil prices and the possibility of a fully reopened Strait of Hormuz brought the national gas price average below $4 a gallon Thursday and delivered a fourth week of hefty price decreases in Southern California, according to the Auto Club’s Weekend Gas Watch.

Today’s statewide average for a gallon of regular gasoline is $5.64, which is 16 cents less than last week but still $1 higher than at this time last year. The national average is $3.99, which is 13 cents lower than last week and 81 cents higher than on this date last year.

The average price of self-serve regular gasoline in the Los Angeles–Long Beach area is $5.64 per gallon, and in San Diego, the average price is $5.68.

In Riverside, the average price per gallon is $5.47, 20 cents lower than last week and $1.02 higher than a year ago. In Bakersfield, the $5.83 average is nine cents lower than last week and $1.25 higher than one year ago.

“Oil prices are trading below $80 a barrel today and gas prices in Southern California have tumbled by about 60 cents a gallon below their highest point of the year reached in early May,” said Auto Club spokesperson Kandace Redd. “But there is still a long way to go to reach the prices that drivers were paying at this time last year. (Source: AAA SoCal)