The average price for regular unleaded gasoline in the city of Los Angeles plunged more than 17 cents a gallon from mid-November to mid-December, according to the Automobile Club of Southern California. In its monthly Fuel Gauge Report, the Auto Club noted that pump prices are still 52 cents higher than one year ago.

The average price for regular self-serve unleaded gasoline in December totaled $2.203 per gallon in the city of Los Angeles, compared with $2.370 on Nov. 16 and $1.68 in December 2003.

Culver City is L.A. County’s most expensive city for gas, averaging $2.344 for a gallon of regular gas through Dec. 14; the city of Glendora is the most reasonable, checking in at $2.075.

Prices are not summarized for L.A. County as a whole. For all of Southern California, the average price of gas was $2.192 in December, compared with an average of $2.374 in November and $1.699 one year ago. Statewide, the average price for December is $2.161, down from $2.355 in November.

“The primary reason for higher prices is that while crude prices

have been declining, they’re still averaging about $10 per barrel more than last December,” said Auto Club spokeswoman Carol Thorp. “As long as California refineries continue to run smoothly we can expect pump prices to continue declining for the rest of the year.”

The lowest average price in Southern California is in Escondido, where regular is selling for $2.068. Blythe reported the state’s highest average price at $2.453. Nationally, the average price is $1.84 per gallon, down from $1.96 in November.