Decreased Output At NorCal Refinery Leads To Gas Price Jump
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — The average price of a gallon of self-serve regular gasoline in Los Angeles County jumped 5.9 cents Friday to $3.321, and a gasoline expert blamed the hike on reduced production at a Northern California refinery.
"Chevron's Richmond refinery in Northern California reported a flare-up and partial reduction of production on Tuesday morning, but even prior to that, Los Angeles area refineries were shipping gasoline north to assist with reduced Northern California refinery output," said Jeffrey Spring, the Automobile Club of Southern California's corporate communications manager.
"The recent Chevron incident looks like it may put additional pressure on local pump prices, creating the second local gas price spike of 2015," Spring said.
The 5.9-cent increase was the largest daily increase in Los Angeles County since a 7.7-cent increase on Feb. 28, according to figures from the AAA and Oil Price Information Service.
The average price has increased nine consecutive days following a 41-day streak of decreases and is 15.6 cents more than a week ago, and 1.3 cents higher than a month ago. However, it is 98.2 cents less than one year ago.
The average price has risen 19.1 cents over the past nine days, including 1.9 cents on Thursday.
Orange County's average price rose a bit higher – 6.1 cents to $3.316, 17.8 cents more than a week ago and 4.1 cents more than a month ago, but 98.2 cents less than one year ago.
The Orange County average price has risen nine consecutive days following a 41-day streak of decreases, increasing 22.3 cents, including 2.6 cents on Thursday.
The 6.1-cent increase was the largest daily increase in Orange County since a 7.4-cent increase on Feb. 28.
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