California gas prices hit a new record, $6 and climbing

After three weeks of steady increases, the average price of a gallon of regular gas breached $6 a gallon in California, a first for the state and the U.S.

The California average stood at $6.06 on Thursday, according to AAA.

Orange and Los Angeles counties each had topped $6 in late March before prices went down. This week, the average price broke a new record Wednesday and again Thursday with prices climbing to $6.07 and $6.09, respectively.

The high cost of crude oil has pushed up pump prices, according to Andrew Gross, an AAA national public relations manager. The price of a barrel of the Brent crude fell $2.82 Wednesday to settle at $109.11. Brent crude is the global oil benchmark, accounting for approximately 80% of the world’s crude oil.

The average price for regular gas is up 32.3 cents in LA and 36.5 cents in Orange County, according to data from the AAA and Oil Price Information Service.

The previous record of $6.07 for LA County was set March 28 while Orange County’s previous record high was $6.029 set March 29.

The average price for the Inland Empire continued to climb closer to the $6 mark. In Riverside and San Berardino counties, the average price hit $5.98 on Thursday. In Riverside, prices went up 4.2 cents in a day, breaking a record that stood for 50 days. The county’s previous high was set $5.971 set March 29.

The national average price rose to a record for the 10th consecutive day, increasing 2.2 cents to $4.589.

Crude oil costs account for slightly more than half of the pump price, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. The rest of the price includes the other components of gasoline, production costs, distribution costs, overhead costs for all involved in production, distribution and sales, taxes and carbon offset fees in California paid by the refineries.