The average price of gasoline rose more than eight cents per gallon in Southern California this week as a result of tight supplies, the Automobile Club of Southern California said Friday.

But the club said it is unclear if the annual springtime price spike has begun.

The average price of a gallon of regular self-serve in the Los Angeles-Long Beach area rose 8.4 cents over the past week to 2.643 on Friday, six cents more than last month and seven cents more than a year ago, according to the latest Auto Club survey of the region's gas stations.

The average price per gallon rose 7.1 cents from Feb. 2-9 after dropping for five consecutive weeks.

"Supplies have tightened in California because of issues such as last week's shutdown of the state's fifth-largest crude oil field after an explosion," Auto Club spokeswoman Carol Thorp said.

Source: Xinhua