Auto Club: California Gas Prices Spike For Third Straight Week

Gas prices continued to spike upward at a rapid pace for a third straight week in California and throughout the U.S., according to the Auto Club's Weekend Gas Watch. Today's statewide average for a gallon of regular gasoline is $5.61, a 25-cent jump from last week and 96 cents higher than at this time last year. The national average jumped by 29 cents in a week to $3.88, which is 78 cents higher than on this date last year.

The average price of self-serve regular gasoline in the Los Angeles-Long Beach area is $5.71 per gallon, 31 cents higher than last week and $1.06 higher than a year ago. In San Diego, the average price is $5.69 - 30 cents higher than last week and $1.02 higher than this time last year.

On the Central Coast, the average price is $5.50, up 26 cents from last week and 88 cents higher than a year ago. In Riverside, the average price per gallon is $5.58, 29 cents higher than last week and $1.09 higher than a year ago. In Bakersfield, the $5.50 average is 24 cents higher than last week and 93 cents higher than one year ago.

"Oil prices continue to hover near $100 a barrel, which has put upward pressure on prices throughout the country," said Auto Club spokesperson Kandace Redd. "California's $5.61 average gas price today is almost $1 higher per gallon than before the Middle East conflict started on Feb. 28. The state with the second-highest gas price average today is Washington with an average price of $5.14 per gallon, and the only other state with an average price above $5 is Hawaii at $5.07 per gallon."

The Weekend Gas Watch monitors the average price of gasoline. As of 9 a.m. on March 19, averages are: