L.A. gas prices spiked for the second consecutive week after more than 3 months of declines, as speculators continued to bid up prices, expecting that they will rise even higher, said the Automobile Club of Southern California.

The average price for regular self-serve unleaded gasoline in the Los Angeles-Long Beach area soared 16.6 cents to $2.404 on Friday from $2.238 one week ago. The price was $2.305 per gallon one month ago and $1.970 one year prior. Prices haven’t hit a new record high since Sept. 6.

“Prices are rising primarily on speculation of investors who believe that prices will continue rising over the next few weeks,” Auto Club spokesperson Carol Thorp said. “It’s likely that prices could increase another 7 to10 cents per gallon in the next week before they begin to level off, but even that plateau likely will be temporary.”

The Orange County area had the lowest average price in Southern California, jumping 16.4 cents to $2.377. The Santa Barbara-Santa Maria-Lompoc area had the highest gas price, climbing 15.1 cents to $2.561.

The Weekend Gas Watch monitors the average price of gasoline each Friday.