A drop in gasoline prices in the Great Lakes states has helped bring the national average price of self-serve regular unleaded down 4.8 cents since the middle of May, to $1.661 per gallon, according to the American Automobile Assn.'s (AAA) Fuel Gauge Report.
Prices in the Great Lakes states have declined an average 1.2 cents in the last month, from $1.862 to $1.742, the report says. Prices also fell in other regions, although not in the Northeast and West.
The nationwide average fuel price has been declining since the end of the Memorial Day weekend as overall inventories of gasoline have increased. Recent flooding in southeast Texas has created some refining problems, however, which could negatively impact gasoline production in the short term, AAA said.
The report shows prices are highest in the West, up an average of 3.1 cents to $1.769 per gallon since mid-May. In New England, the average price is $1.721 per gallon, up 1.4 cents in the last month.
In the Midwest, prices fell 2.9 cents per gallon to average $1.709 and declined a half a cent per gallon in the Mid-Atlantic states to $1.689. Prices in the Southwest dropped $0.014 cents in one month to average $1.63 per gallon. Motorists in the Southeast are paying the lowest prices in the U.S., an average $1.544 per gallon, down 4.6 cents in one month.
