Gas Prices Drop Below $4 Per Gallon

For the first time since March 24, the average price of a gallon of self-serve regular gasoline in Los Angeles County has fallen below $4, City News Service reported. Wednesday's 1.2-cent drop brought the average price down to $3.991.

Here are some of the stations selling gas for below-average prices in the Redondo Beach area. Prices are from GasBuddy.com and user-reported within the past 24 hours.

• Thrifty, 4925 Torrance Blvd., Torrance
  Regular: $3.839
  Premium: $4.059
• Arco, 3900 Sepulveda Blvd., Torrance
  Regular: $3.859
  Premium: $4.079
• 76, 5404 W. 190th St., Torrance
  Regular: $3.939 (cash price)

  Premium: $4.139 (cash price)
• Arco, 1131 Pacific Coast Highway, Hermosa Beach
  Regular: $3.939
  Premium: $4.139

The average price has dropped about 30 cents during the 33-day decrease—which followed a span where prices rose 43 times in 45 days. As of Wednesday morning, the average price is nearly 6 cents less than it was last week and almost 30 cents less than it was at this time last month, according to figures from the AAA and Oil Price Information Service.

The price is still 92.1 cents higher than it was last year.

Analysts credit the decrease in gas prices to the declining cost of crude oil, which can account for up to three-quarters of the price of a gallon of gasoline. The price of a barrel of benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude on the New York Mercantile Exchange has dropped 13 percent to $99.09.

City News Service contributed to this report.