The average price for a gallon of regular gasoline at the self-dispensing station in Riverside County fell nine-tenths of a cent to $4.443 on Thursday.
The average price is 3.1 cents lower than a week ago, 15.3 cents lower than a month ago and 80.1 cents lower than a year ago, according to figures from AAA and the Oil Price Information Service. The price has fallen by $1.93 since its record high of $6.373 on October 5, 2022.
The national average price fell 1.1 cents to $3,387. That’s 5.5 cents less than a week ago, 11.4 cents less than a month ago and 46.7 cents less than a year ago. The national average price has fallen $1,629 since its record high of $5,016 on June 14, 2022.
“Gasoline and diesel prices continue to fall across much of the country as demand wanes over the summer. Lower demand in other oil-consuming countries is also helping to increase downward pressure on pump prices as we approach Labor Day,” said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, which provides real-time gasoline price information from more than 150,000 gas stations.
“With little new action in the Middle East to push prices higher and Hurricane Ernesto still far out to sea, it looks like the downward trend could continue in the coming week. As more schools reopen, gasoline demand is likely to continue to weaken. With the switch to winter gasoline starting in most countries in less than a month, gasoline prices will soon experience their seasonal cooldown, just as temperatures will soon.”