RIVERSIDE — The average price of a gallon of self-serve regular gasoline in the Inland Empire fell today for the 30th consecutive day, decreasing eight-tenths of a cent to $3.972, the lowest since March 24.
The average price in Riverside and San Bernardino counties is 5.2 cents less than one week ago and 28.8 cents lower than a month ago but 95.1 cents higher than a year ago, according to figures from the AAA and Oil Price Information Service.
The average price has fallen 29.3 cents during the streak that began May 7, including 1.1 cents on Saturday. It had risen eight times in nine days before the streak of decreases began.
Analysts credit the decreases to the declining cost of crude oil. The price of a barrel of benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude on the New York Mercantile Exchange has fallen 12 percent to $100.22 since reaching a two-year high of $113.93 on April 29.
Crude oil costs account for two-thirds to three-quarters of the price of a gallon of gasoline, according to Tupper Hull of the Western States Petroleum Association, a trade association representing oil companies in six western states.
