The average price of a gallon of self-serve regular gasoline in San Diego County is recorded at $5.327 on Sunday, marking the second-highest increase since July 14, 2015.
The county-wide average has risen 11.2 cents, which is the 17th record in the last 19 days.
Each of the three highest increases since July 14, 2015, have occurred over the past three days. According to figures from the AAA and Oil Prices, the average price of regular self-serve gasoline rose 12.9 cents on Friday and 11.1 cents Saturday.
The average price has risen 31 of the past 34 days, increasing 70.3 cents. It is 48.5 cents more than one week ago, 64.8 cents higher than one month ago, and $1.554 greater than one year ago.
Oil industry analysts attribute the price spike to the possibility of a supply shortage because traders, shippers, insurance companies, and banks are avoiding Russian oil transactions for fear of running afoul of Western sanctions.
The price spike "is not exactly surprising — it is the cost of choking off Russia from energy revenue," said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis for GasBuddy, which provides real-time gas price information from more than 150,000 stations.
According to Gas Buddy, Gas Depot on 199 Broadway has prices lower than the county-wide average at $4.89 per gallon of regular gasoline, and Bobar Liquor on 600 F st. share the same price.
Costco locations on 114 Broadway and 895 H St. are near $5 per gallon of regular self-serve gasoline at $4.97.
Two gas stations that joined many gas stations in the county have exceeded the $5 threshold. Shell at 401 Telegraph Canyon prices its gasoline at $5.05, but it is significantly lower than Broadway Gas & Wash on 498 Broadway, which parks its gasoline at $5.50 a gallon.
As gas prices continue to rise, here are some tips from AAA to help you save some money at the pump.
- Keep your tires properly inflated. Underinflation reduces fuel economy.
- Slow down and drive the speed limit. On the highway, aerodynamic drag causes fuel economy to drop off significantly as speeds increase above 50 mph.
- Avoid “jackrabbit” starts and hard acceleration. These actions greatly increase fuel consumption.
- Avoid extended idling to warm up the engine, even in winter. It’s unnecessary and wastes fuel.
- Minimize your use of air conditioning. Even at highway speeds, open windows have less effect on fuel economy than the engine power required to operate the air conditioning compressor.
- Also, shop around for gas prices, sometimes lower prices are around the corner.
