Gas Prices Drop A Penny In Last Week

Oil prices began to fall this week, mainly because the dollar gained strength and concerns intensified about a sagging global economy. As a result, gasoline prices suspended their march higher, at least for the moment.

The national average price of self-serve regular today is $3.382 per gallon, down from $3.391 last Friday, according to AAA's Fuel Gauge Survey. That's almost 18 cents a gallon more than what motorists were paying a month ago.

The average price of diesel fuel today is $3.870 per gallon, down from $3.871 a week ago.

Barring an international incident in the Persian Gulf, motorists' respite at the pump could continue for another week or so. In its weekly report the U.S. Energy Information Administration noted that U.S. demand for gasoline continues to fall.

Falling demand

In fact, demand for all petroleum products was down 7.2 percent from the middle of December to the middle of January. Gasoline demand is down over 6.0 percent.

Among states, the disparity in average gasoline prices continues to shrink. Hawaii continues to have the highest average price - $4.08 a gallon - while Wyoming has the cheapest, $2.972. States in the plains and mountain west continue to have the cheapest fuel, while the most expensive states are now clustered in the northeast.

The states with the most expensive gas this week are:

• Hawaii ($4.08)
• Alaska ($3.901)
• California ($3.708)
• New York ($3.675)
• Connecticut ($3.667)
• Illinois ($3.512)
• Maine ($3.511)
• Rhode Island ($3.503)
• Vermont($3.500)
• West Virginia ($3.491)

The states with the least expensive gas this week are:

• Wyoming ($2.972)
• Utah ($2.978)
• Colorado ($3.003)
• Montana ($3.049)
• Idaho ($3.053)
• New Mexico ($3.073)
• Oklahoma ($3.129)
• Kansas ($3.155)
• Missouri ($3.156)
• Iowa ($3.193)