Riverside County's average gas price climbed to $6.146 per gallon on Tuesday, Sept. 22, the highest level since Sept. 29, 2023.

The increase extended a streak of 36 consecutive days of rising prices, adding 62.6 cents to the cost of a gallon of regular self-serve gasoline, according to figures from AAA and the Oil Price Information Service reported by Patch. The streak included a 1.4-cent jump on the most recent day tracked.

That is not a small number.

Compared to a year ago, the county average is $1.541 higher. It has risen 59.1 cents in the past month alone.

The surge traces to what the Patch report called the joint U.S./Israel war on Iran, which began Feb. 28 and sent oil prices sharply higher. Since that date, the Riverside County average has jumped $1.595.

Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, said in a Sept. 14 interview with WPLG Local 10 that "there is not really a date when things will suddenly improve spontaneously." He added that restoring diplomatic ties and deescalating the situation would be necessary before drivers see meaningful relief at the pump.

On Sept. 21, De Haan posted on X about the national picture:

@GasBuddyGuy: "another bad week for consumers, truckers, farmers and beyond as gasoline and diesel prices continued to jump, with some eye-watering increases in the Great Lakes"

Nationally, the average price fell one-tenth of a cent to $4.474 on Sept. 22, the second straight daily decrease after a run of 21 increases in 22 days that had added 40.1 cents. The national average has climbed $1.492 since the start of the Iran conflict. De Haan said the national average is at its highest level this late in the calendar year.

The county first crossed $6 on Sept. 17, when the average hit $6.026 after 30 straight days of increases. In a Sept. 15 interview with KIRO Newsradio, De Haan compared the California price surge to a "Y2K for pumps," noting some stations were approaching the $9.999-per-gallon display limit on their equipment.

In that same Sept. 14 interview, De Haan identified the Iran conflict and the Russia-Ukraine war as the two biggest factors keeping prices elevated. Since Feb. 28, the county average has risen $1.595, or roughly 35 percent.