Gas prices in the Santa Clarita Valley and across the region continue to decline as the coronavirus pandemic impacts the economy.
Self-serve, regular gasoline has dropped to below the $3 mark at local stations, ranging from $2.39 to $2.89 on Monday, according to Gas Buddy.
The average price in Los Angeles County of $2.89 dropped by 1 cent since last week, 43 cents from a month ago and $1.18 from a year ago.
The county and the rest of the West Coast continue to see “significant decreases despite carrying some of the most expensive averages in the country,” according to a Monday report from the Automobile Association. In fact, California was among the top 10 states that saw the largest weekly decreases, dropping 6 cents in the last week, but still remained among the most expensive markets in the country, with an average of $2.81, while the national average reached $1.81.
Valencia resident Obada Alrayes said Monday that prices in the Santa Clarita should be lower.
“Prices have dropped, but I definitely believe they should be lower than $2. Yesterday I got gas at $2.79 and I was in Orange County and they were around $2. I’m working from home right now but, at the same time, I have family and I take them food, so I’m still driving,” said Alrayes.
The drop in oil prices comes as the number of both general and commercial drivers on the road significantly drops due to the COVID-19 outbreak that has left many people adhering to stay-at-home orders and fewer people using public transportation, as well as Russia and Saudi Arabia increasing oil production and lowering the price, according to Jeffrey Spring, a spokesman for the Automobile Club of Southern California.
On Monday, one in four gas stations in the U.S. sold gas for $1.49 or less and “(e)ven with regional refinery rates dropping, we will continue to see gas prices decrease though potentially at a slower rate than the past few weeks,” AAA spokeswoman Jeanette Casselano said in the report.
