For the third consecutive week, average retail gasoline prices in Riverside County are trending upward.

Average retail gasoline prices have risen 7.7 cents per gallon in the past week, averaging $3.15/g yesterday, according to GasBuddy’s daily survey of 481 gas outlets in Riverside County. This compares with the national average that has increased 0.4 cents per gallon in the last week to $2.48 per gallon, according to gasoline price website GasBuddy.com.

Including the change in gas prices in Riverside during the past week, prices Sunday were 35.6 cents per gallon higher than the same day one year ago and are 5.5 cents per gallon higher than a month ago. The national average has increased 1.7 cents per gallon during the last month and stands 11.9 cents per gallon higher than this day one year ago.

According to GasBuddy historical data, gasoline prices on January 8 in Riverside have ranged widely over the last five years:

  • $2.79 per gallon in 2017,
  • $3.02 per gallon in 2016,
  • $2.60 per gallon in 2015,
  • $3.66 per gallon in 2014, and
  • $3.62/g in 2013.

Areas near Riverside and their current gas price climate:

  • San Bernardino- $3.12 per gallon, up 7.5 cents per gallon from last week’s $3.05 per gallon.
  • Orange County- $3.20 per gallon, up 8.1 cents per gallon from last week’s $3.12 per gallon.
  • Los Angeles- $3.23 per gallon, up 9.8 cents per gallon from last week’s $3.13 per gallon.

“As unseasonable cold finally breaks across the country, what may not break as quickly as the unseasonably high gas prices,” Patrick DeHaan, head of petroleum analysis for GasBuddy, said in a prepared statement. “Prices at the pump are higher than they were nearly all of last summer, mainly because oil prices remain high and due to the extreme cold weather that caused some snafus at refiners.”

Inventories of refined products have seen an impressive build in the last week, and there’s a strong likelihood that we may soon begin to see the national average falling toward the end of the month, DeHaan said.

“I must caution motorists, however, that any downturn would likely be short-lived as gas prices typically begin moving higher after the sweetness of Valentines Day has worn off as refiners begin maintenance and the long road to summer gasoline begins,” DeHaan said.

For LIVE fuel price averages, visit HERE.