Gas Prices Fall in State, Rise in U.S.

California gasoline prices fell for the ninth straight week, the Energy Department said Monday, but prospects for further declines were clouded by another jump in crude oil prices.

The average retail price for self-serve regular in the state dropped 2.7 cents to $2.333 a gallon, the agency’s Energy Information Administration said in its weekly survey. In Los Angeles alone, the average fell 4.2 cents to $2.335 a gallon.

California’s average price has tumbled 25.9 cents a gallon, or 10%, since reaching a record high of $2.592 in the week ended April 11. But the price remained 4.4 cents higher than a year earlier.

The national average price edged higher for the second consecutive week, climbing 1.4 cents to $2.13 a gallon, the EIA said. The U.S. average is up 14.5 cents from this time last year and, before the latest increases, had fallen for seven consecutive weeks from a record of $2.321 a gallon.

Gas prices have come down in response to industry data showing a buildup of U.S. gasoline stockpiles. A drop in crude oil prices last month also helped lower pump prices, but oil prices have since shot back up.

The U.S. benchmark light, sweet crude for July delivery climbed $2.08, or 3.9%, to $55.62 a barrel Monday on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Oil’s record close on the Nymex is $57.27 a barrel, reached April 1.

The gain came despite expectations that OPEC ministers would vote to maintain or increase the cartel’s production quota when they meet Wednesday in Vienna.

OPEC, which supplies more than one-third of the world’s oil, might boost its official output by 500,000 barrels a day, to 28 million, analysts said. But its member nations already are producing more than 28 million barrels daily to meet strong global demand, so the increase would be largely symbolic, they said.

Oil prices have risen lately partly in response to expected heavy demand for so-called distillate fuels, including diesel. The July futures contract for heating oil, a benchmark for other distillates, surged 5.57 cents, or 3.5%, to $1.663 a gallon -- just shy of its record Nymex close of $1.664 a gallon, also reached April 1.