Gasoline prices increase by biggest amount this year

Gasoline prices continued to rise for the fourth consecutive week as a result of tight supplies, the Automobile Club of Southern California said on Friday.

The increase was the biggest amount this year and more hikes are in store, the Automobile Club said.

The average price of a gallon of regular self-serve in the Los Angeles-Long Beach area rose 12.6 cents over the past week to 2. 817 U.S. dollars on Friday, 33 cents more than last month and 32 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 4.8 cents from Feb. 16-23, 8. 4 cents from Feb. 9-16 and 7.1 cents from Feb. 2-9 after dropping for five consecutive weeks.

"We're into the fourth straight week of price increases, and so far, there doesn't seem to be an end in sight," Auto Club spokeswoman Carol Thorp said.

"Some of California's supplies are being diverted to assist with shortages in other southwest states, and since supplies are already tight here, this has caused an increase of nearly two cents a day in most areas over the past week."

The Auto Club provided this breakdown of gasoline prices in selected portions of California and Nevada as of 12:01 a.m. Friday.

Source: Xinhua