Hurricane Rita’s effect on Southern California gas prices has been negligible and gasoline prices in Los Angeles continued slowly declining. More rapid price drops are expected in the coming weeks, said the Automobile Club of Southern California.

The average price for regular self-serve unleaded gasoline in the Los Angeles-Long Beach area dipped 2.3 cents to $2.921 on Friday from $2.944 one week ago. Prices haven’t reached a new record high since Sept. 6. The price was $2.798 per gallon one month ago and $2.113 one year prior.

“Southern California has been relatively immune from dramatic price spikes,” said Auto Club spokeswoman Carol Thorp. “This is because California’s unique blend of gas does not come from Gulf Coast refiners. Indicators point to the lower price trend continuing for at least the next couple of weeks.”

The Orange County area had the lowest average price in Southern California, dipping 3.5 cents to $2.875. The Bakersfield area had the highest gas price for the fourth straight week, falling 1.7 cents to $3.040. Of the areas surveyed, only the Bakersfield and Santa Barbara-Santa Maria-Lompoc areas had average prices above the $3-a-gallon mark on Friday.

The Weekend Gas Watch monitors the average price of gasoline as of 12:01 a.m. each Friday.