SLO County gas prices dropped more than 17 cents in April. Is a bigger decrease on the way?
At the end of February, San Luis Obispo County gas prices were sitting steady at an average of just over $4.90 per gallon. Then, in March, they skyrocketed.
By the end of March, local drivers were paying almost $6 per gallon — an almost unprecedented price in modern memory.
Since then, the pain at the pump has lessened somewhat as fuel costs dropped. By the final week of April, the average cost of a gallon of gas was more than 17 cents lower than at the month’s start.
As of Wednesday, the average price of a gallon of regular gas in San Luis Obispo County was $5.79, according to GasBuddy.com.
You might be wondering — are gas prices ever going to get back to normal?
Likely not for a while, experts say.
“As long as the price of oil stays elevated, the price at the pump will struggle to fall,” AAA spokesoman Andrew Gross said in a news release Monday. “Consumers may be catching a little break from March’s record-high prices, but don’t expect any dramatic drops.”
According to AAA, though prices have been trending downwards in recent weeks, the national average for a gallon rose 4 cents in the third week of April, to an average of $4.12. That price fluctuation is due in part to concerns over Russian oil in the global market and a COVID-19-induced economic slowdown in China, AAA said.
“I don’t really see the next time California or the Bay Area’s going get under that $5 mark – maybe later this year,” GasBuddy analyst Patrick De Haan told The Mercury News in April. “It might be a while.”
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How do SLO County prices compare with Central Coast?
The average price of a gallon of regular gas in the San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles metropolitan statistical area was $5.79 as of Wednesday — the highest on the Central Coast, according to GasBuddy.com.
As of Wednesday, a gallon of regular gas in other Central Coast metropolitan statistical areas cost:
- Salinas: $5.63
- Santa Barbara: $5.72
- Ventura: $5.78
Prices at all four Central Coast MSAs peaked in late March. Notably, the Salinas-Monterey MSA has been less volatile in its gas prices, with only about a 16-cent difference between its peak on March 24 and Wednesday’s average.
In Ventura, that difference was 25 cents, and in Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo, it was 24 cents.
Prior to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the San Luis Obispo MSA was generally home to the most expensive gas on the Central Coast, if not the nation. Following the invasion, prices have become more volatile with no clear “most expensive” region.
Where is the cheapest gas in SLO County?
Though no place is charging less than $5 per gallon as of yet, several San Luis Obispo County stations are selling gas for well below the $5.79 average.
As of Wednesday, the cheapest gas stations in the county according to GasBuddy.com were:
- Fastrip Fuel and Wayside Liquor, 710 Creston Road, Paso Robles, selling gas for $5.31 a gallon
- San Paseo Truck Stop, 81 Wellsona Road, Paso Robles: $5.35
- Valero, 2340 Spring St., Paso Robles: $5.35
- 7-11, 99 Dolliver St., Pismo Beach: $5.39
- Costco, 1540 Froom Ranch Way, San Luis Obispo: $5.39
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