County Gas Prices Reach Highest Price Since May

Editor’s Note: Below is a report on gas prices across San Diego County. You can find the lowest gas prices in Encinitas every day by visiting the ‘Traffic & Gas’ portion of Patch. Today, for example, you can find the cheapest gas at the 7-Eleven on Leucadia Blvd. for $4.08 per gallon.

The average price of a gallon of self-serve regular gasoline in San Diego County rose 5.5 cents today to $4.234 -- its highest amount since last May 12 and coming one day after its largest daily increase since at least 2009.

The sharp increases -- Thursday's hike was 6.6 cents -- are the result of a major fire at the Cherry Point refinery near Blaine, Wash., that will cause its closure for at least three weeks and reduce the supply, Marie Montgomery of the Automobile Club of Southern California told City News Service.

The price had already been increasing because of rising oil prices and the closure of some California refineries for maintenance, according to analysts.

The average price has risen for 30 consecutive days and is 24.2 cents more than one week ago, 49.5 cents higher than a month ago and 61.6 cents greater than a year ago, according to figures from the AAA and Oil Price Information Service.

— City News Service