Gas prices below $3.80 appear in Southern California

By Ronald D. White, Los Angeles Times

June 15, 2012

Southern California drivers got another double-digit drop in gasoline prices in the last week that has left regional averages near $4 a gallon, with some stations offering considerably lower prices, according to the Automobile Club of Southern California.

"This is the first time since the financial meltdown of 2008 that Southern California has experienced two consecutive weeks of double-digit gas price declines in most areas," Auto Club spokesman Jeffrey Spring said.

"Prices have returned to levels not seen since mid-February because of the rapid drop in wholesale prices starting late last month," Spring said. "Drivers should easily be able to find gas stations now charging less than $3.90 a gallon, and a few that are even below $3.80."

The AAA survey said the average price of self-serve regular gasoline in the Los Angeles-Long Beach area was $4.057 a gallon Thursday, 12.6 cents lower than a week earlier and 33 cents lower than a month earlier. But the average was still a dime higher than at the same time last year.

In Orange County, the average was $4.008 a gallon, down 13.2 cents from a week earlier and down 36.4 cents from a month earlier. The price was 8.2 cents higher than a year earlier.

In the Inland Empire, the average price per gallon was $4.02, down 14.1 cents from a week earlier, down 32.1 cents from a month earlier and up 10 cents from a year earlier.

In U.S. futures trading, oil jumped after the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries chose to keep a production target of 30 million barrels a day. The U.S. benchmark petroleum contract rose $1.29 to $83.91 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

In London, Brent crude, which is used to price international oil, increased 45 cents to $97.17 a barrel.

ron.white@latimes.com

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