SACRAMENTO – Betty T. Yee, chairwoman of the Board of Equalization (BOE), has released California gasoline and diesel consumption figures for November 2009.

Gasoline consumption decreased 2.3 percent, while diesel consumption declined 3.2 percent compared to the same month in 2008.

“While gas prices have changed little in recent months, they are up quite a bit compared to the extremely low prices of late 2008. So we would expect consumption to be lower compared to 2008,” said Chairwoman Yee.

January through November 2009 California gasoline consumption declined 1.4 percent compared to January through November of 2008.

Gasoline consumption declined 2.3 percent in November 2009 when Californians used 1.170 billion gallons of gasoline compared to 1.198 billion gallons in November 2008.

The average price at the pump for gasoline in California during November 2009 was $3.01 per gallon compared to $2.51 in November 2008, a 19.9 percent increase.

Prices were extremely low in late 2008, reflecting the burst of a crude oil price bubble that developed earlier in the year.

Sales tax revenue generated from gasoline sold in California was approximately $293 million in November 2009, which is an estimated $72 million less than generated in November 2008.

Sales tax revenues from gasoline in November 2009 would have been about $40 million less if the sales tax rate had not increased by one percent on April 1, 2009.

Diesel consumption in California declined by 3.2 percent in November 2009 when Californians used 198 million gallons compared to 204 million gallons in November 2008.

Diesel prices in California were $2.96 per gallon in November 2009 up 4.6 percent compared to November 2008 when the average diesel price was $2.83 per gallon.

The BOE is able to monitor gallons through tax receipts paid by fuel distributors. Figures for December 2009 are scheduled to be available at the end of March 2010. All monthly, quarterly, and annual figures can be viewed at: www.boe.ca.gov/sptaxprog/spftrpts.htm .