Gas Nears 19-Month Low
NEW YORK CITY - Gasoline prices fell overnight, settling to the lowest prices in nearly 19 months, a survey for the American Automobile Association showed Monday.
The national average price for a gallon of regular gas fell to $2.668, down .031 cents from the day before, according to AAA's Daily Fuel Gauge Report. The last time the prices were this low was March 31, 2007 at $2.6591 a gallon.
Today marks the 40th straight day that prices have dropped. Gas is down 35.15%, or $1.446, from the record-high price of $4.114 that AAA reported in mid-July. Gas is down 27.24%, or .999 cents, from the month ago average.
On Oct. 18, the average price dropped below $3 a gallon for the first time in nearly nine months.
Alaska has the most expensive gas in the nation at an average of $3.730 a gallon, while Oklahoma has the cheapest gas at $2.249 a gallon.
Demand for gas is dropping, as Americans drive less and consume less gas compared to last year. In August, Americans drove 5.6% less, marking the biggest single-month decline in miles traveled since the government collected data. Gas consumption for the past four weeks averaged 8.8 million barrels a day, or 4.3% lower, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.
U.S. crude oil for December delivery fell $3.69 to $64.15 a barrel in electronic trading Monday.
On Friday, oil prices fell to their lowest point since May 2007 even as OPEC announced it would cut production by 1.5 million barrels a day starting in November.
Source: CNNMoney.com
Print | posted on Monday, October 27, 2008 10:06 AM