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Gas Prices Drop 25 Cents

The average retail price of a gallon of gasoline in the United States went down more than 25 cents in the past two weeks, a survey showed on Sunday. The national average price for self-serve, regular unleaded gasoline was $2.66 a gallon on October 21.

Prices dropped because the refineries shut by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita are recovering and demand is dropping. As Americans drive less after the end of summer, record prices and supply concerns are in decreasing demand. The lowest average price in the U.S. for regular unleaded among the stations surveyed was $2.20 a gallon in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The highest price was $3.01 in Honolulu, Hawaii.

The average pump price for all three grades is still 3 cents per gallon higher than before Hurricane Katrina barreled into the Gulf Coast, Lundberg said. Gasoline prices may continue going down in the coming weeks unless an extreme winter drives up heating oil demand and affects the price of crude oil.