AAA: Gas Prices Higher Than Ever Before For Labor Day Weekend
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — Travelers may find themselves digging deeper into their wallets this Labor Day weekend as pain at the pump continues to mount.
The Auto Club of Southern California (AAA) says the price of fuel this holiday weekend is a record breaker.
Video shot Sunday showed one patron paying a whopping $100 for 24 gallons of gas.
Los Angeles drivers last month paid an average of $3.85 a gallon for regular gasoline.
According to AAA, the average cost of a gallon of gas in Ventura and Los Angeles counties is $4.17, followed by Orange County at $4.15 a gallon and the Inland Empire nearly a penny less at $4.14.
In August, the national average increased just under 31 cents for a gallon of gas -- the largest price increase since April of last year.
Art Barron, reporting for CBS2 and KCAL9, says AAA attributes the increase to crude oil costs, regional supply problems in the Midwest and West Coast because of the pipeline disruptions, as well as the Gulf Coast refinery closures in advance of Hurricane Isaac.
AAA predicts that prices should begin to drop slightly this month as Gulf Coast refineries resume operation.
