Gas in Los Angeles now costs $6.26 a gallon as average price jumps 15 cents overnight

Already on the rise, gas prices in Los Angeles jumped another 15 cents over the last 24 hours, according to data from the American Automobile Assn.

The average price for a gallon of regular gas in the Los Angeles region reached $6.26 on Thursday morning, just 20 cents shy of the area's record high, set this summer when fuel prices continued to soar. On Wednesday, the average price was $6.108.

Gas prices were already ticking upward this week amid supply issues at refineries across the West Coast and Midwest, following an almost 100-day streak of falling gas prices nationwide.

"Planned and unplanned refinery maintenance issues have tightened fuel supply in [California]," said Anlleyn Venegas, a spokesperson for the Automobile Club of Southern California. "West Coast fuel inventories are at the lowest level in about a decade, according to [the U.S. Energy Information Administration]."

Venegas said people should expect pump prices to remain volatile until those refineries return to full operations.

The majority of California counties are looking at prices above $6 a gallon Thursday, according to AAA. The lowest average price was $5.77 in Sutter County, just north of Sacramento. Mono County, along the Nevada border, has the highest average price, at $6.84 a gallon.

The state's average was $6.18 per gallon, which is still significantly higher than a year ago, when average prices were just below $4.40, according to AAA.

Prices across the U.S. have also been increasing, with Thursday's nationwide average reaching $3.78, up about 10 cents from a week ago.

Venegas said Californians could begin to see some relief at the pump come November, when winter-blend fuels enter the market, which are typically cheaper to produce.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.