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The government's latest survey has the average price of regular in L.A. at $3.682 a gallon, up eight cents from a week ago and up 46 cents from a year ago. Oil was trading today at $107 a barrel. Energy trader Jim Dietz told BloggingStocks that gasoline is being pushed higher, despite flat-to-declining demand. U.S. consumers "are doing their part to take pressure off prices," he said, but triple-digit-oil prices are providing little incentive for gasoline refiners and wholesales to lower prices. The latest CBS News/New York Times poll found gasoline prices to be the number one economic worry, way ahead of the mortgage crisis.
More by Mark Lacter:
American-US Air settlement with DOJ includes small tweak at LAXSocal housing market going nowhere fast
Amazon keeps pushing for faster L.A. delivery
Another rugged quarter for Tribune Co. papers
How does Stanford compete with the big boys?
Those awful infographics that promise to explain and only distort
Best to low-ball today's employment report
Further fallout from airport shootings
Crazy opening for Twitter*
Should Twitter be valued at $18 billion?
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Mark Lacter created the LA Biz Observed blog in 2006. He posted
until the day before his death on Nov. 13, 2013.