Gas has been expensive this summer, but some relief appears to be on the way.
Southern California gas stations are getting less expensive — at least for now. In some areas where prices have been as high as $6 a gallon, it’s possible to find regular gas around $4.
What’s driving the drop?
How the gas market changes
Things like crude oil prices and hot weather can affect how much you pay at the pump at different times of the year.
For example, Angelenos saw gas prices increase in the spring because of refinery issues and high demand, said Gianella Ghiglino, a spokesperson for the American Automobile Association.
Typically, gas prices increase over the summer because more people are traveling by car and refineries switch to the higher-cost summer oil blend , which is formulated for hotter weather. But this year, after coming off an already expensive spring, early summer prices didn’t hit as hard.
“It kind of felt like a relief for a lot of people,” Ghiglino said.
It’s likely that spring maintenance at oil refineries also helped. Once that’s done, it’s typical for gas output to go up and gas prices to go down because of the pull of supply and demand.