California Gas Prices Drop Slightly After Winter-Blend Announcement

The average price of self-serve regular gasoline in Los Angeles County has dropped for the second consecutive day, but it's still up significantly from last year. According to figures from AAA and Oil Price Information Service, the current average price is $6.424 per gallon, down eight-tenths of a cent from Saturday.

This is after a 44-day streak of increases that brought prices within 5.4 cents of their all-time record of $6.493 set on October 5, 2022. The current average price is 3.7 cents more than one week ago and $1.706 more than last year.

The Orange County average price also fell to $6.385, its second consecutive slight decrease after a run of 42 increases that pushed it within 5.3 cents of its record high. Analysts predicted that California gas prices would begin dropping slightly after Governor Gavin Newsom's announcement that cheaper winter-blend gasoline will be allowed in gas stations immediately.

The national average price has dropped for the eighth consecutive day, decreasing by 1.6 cents to $4.38. Crude oil prices have dipped back into the $90 per barrel range, lowering the national average, but overall gas prices remain the highest they've ever been for this time of year, according to the AAA.