Gasoline prices across Los Angeles County are climbing. It’s normal to see gasoline prices spike around the summer driving season, but this year, Los Angeles County has seen gas prices climb up every day in February. Countywide, the average price is now almost $3 per gallon, the highest cost seen since last July.
As of today, prices are 43.3 cents higher per gallon than they were this time last year, according to Echo Park Patch, and there is no reason to assume the increases will abate. Experts predict prices across Los Angeles County, Orange County and Santa Barbara County will all be north of $3 by Friday.
What is causing prices to be so much higher this year than they were back in 2016? In part because more and more oil from nearby refineries never makes its way to local gas stations.
“Southern California refineries are supplying more gasoline to Mexico, and international gasoline exports overall are increasing among all U.S. refineries," Marie Montgomery of the Automobile Club of Southern California wrote in a statement.
Since winter is usually the lower-demand season for gasoline, it’s also when refineries tend to schedule maintenance which can take them temporarily offline. If during that scheduled maintenance any issues are found or repairs take even a day longer than estimated, that can have ripple effects across the system and result in higher costs.
At this rate, Southern California might not be seeing cheaper gas prices again until autumn. It might be a good time to start taking Metro instead.
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