The average retail price for a gallon of gasoline in the United States fell 4.31 cents in the last two weeks, but is not expected to drop much more, according to an industry analyst.
The national average for self-serve, regular unleaded gas was $2.7501 a gallon on Oct. 5, down from $2.7932 a gallon on Sept. 21, according to the nationwide Lundberg survey of about 7,000 gas stations.
Higher oil prices and a tight gasoline supply are likely to halt gasoline price declines, the survey's author, Trilby Lundberg, said.
Lundberg said street prices on the East Coast did not move significantly up or down over the past two weeks, while actually rising slightly on the West Coast.
Gasoline price rises have also outpaced crude oil price gains due to tight supplies. The cost of unbranded gasoline at terminals has risen 8 cents, while crude oil has moved up 3 cents per gallon, Lundberg said.
Reduced exports from other countries have driven U.S. retail gasoline prices down 40 cents since May. Moreover, U.S. domestic refining capacity is in a seasonal idle in advance of the heating oil season.
At $3.09 a gallon, Honolulu had the highest average price for self-serve, regular unleaded gas, while the lowest price reported was $2.52 a gallon in Newark, New Jersey.