Southland gasoline prices fall to lowest level since early January Gasoline prices in the Southland have fallen to their lowest levels since Jan. 10, according to the Automobile Club of Southern California's Weekend Gas Watch. The price drop was the result of a plunge in crude oil prices of more than $25 a barrel in recent weeks. But the downward trend at the pump could be coming to an end. Crude oil prices, which fell below $80 a barrel last week, are back above $87 a barrel. "The price of oil has jumped by nearly $10 a barrel in recent days on news of a deal to help keep European economies stable," Auto Club spokesman Jeffrey Spring said. "That has also increased wholesale gasoline prices locally," he said. We'll see in the next few days how that affects retail prices. U.S. crude oil dropped slightly Thursday. It closed down 44 cents to $87.22 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The Auto Club bases its gasoline price average on data collected by the Oil Price Information Service and Wright Express, which track daily retail receipts from more than 100,000 service stations around the U.S. The average price of a gallon of regular gasoline in the Los Angeles-Long Beach area this week was $3.729 per gallon. That was 6.4 cents lower than last week, 48.4 cents lower than last month and 6.6 cents lower than a year earlier, the Auto Club report said. In the Los Angeles and Long Beach area, the lowest price was $3.45 a gallon at the Arco station at Downey Avenue and Flower Street in Paramount, according to the fuel price watch service GasBuddy.com. In Orange County, the average price of a gallon of regular was $3.751. That was down 7.3 cents from last week, 49 cents from last month and 9.1 cents from a year earlier. The lowest price in that area was $3.44 a gallon at the Costco on South Harbor Boulevard near Knepp Avenue in Fullerton, according to GasBuddy.com. In Riverside and San Bernardino counties, the average price was $3.767 a gallon, a decline of 6.7 cents from last week, 48.8 cents from last month and 7.3 cents from a year earlier. A gallon of regular there could be found for as low as $3.43 a gallon at the Food 4 Less on Grapefruit Boulevard near Avenue 48 in Coachella, according to GasBuddy.com. In Ventura County, the average price was $3.794 a gallon, down 6.9 cents from last week, 48.4 cents from last month and 7.4 cents from a year earlier. The cheapest gas there was $3.53 at the NEX Autoport at 23rd Avenue and Dodson Street in Port Hueneme, according to GasBuddy.com. "For now, with an average of about $3.70 a gallon in most areas," Spring said, "drivers should easily be able to find gas stations in the $3.50-to-$3.60 range in many cities."