Auto Club: Gas Prices Continue Upward During Holiday Week

Southern California gas prices continued upward during the past Labor Day holiday week, according to the Auto Club's Weekend Gas Watch. The average price for self-serve regular gasoline in California is $4.65, which is three cents higher than a week ago. The average national price is $3.30, which is six cents lower than a week ago.

The average price of self-serve regular gasoline in the Los Angeles-Long Beach area is $4.60 per gallon, which is three cents more than last week and 80 cents less than last year. In San Diego, the average price is $4.69, which is two cents higher than last week and 70 cents lower than this time last year.

On the Central Coast, the average price is $4.69, which is one cent higher than last week and 63 cents lower than last year. In Riverside, the average per-gallon price is $4.49, which is four cents higher than last week and 79 cents lower than a year ago. In Bakersfield, the $4.62 average price is three cents more than last week and 59 cents lower than a year ago today.

"Oil Price Information Service reports that some unplanned refinery flaring and refiner purchases of fuel on the wholesale market put some upward pressure on pump prices," said Auto Club spokesperson Doug Shupe. "In the last day or two, however, some metro areas saw prices drop slightly, so it remains to be seen which way prices will head in the next week."

The Weekend Gas Watch monitors the average price of gasoline. As of 9 a.m. on Sept. 5, averages are: