Gasoline Prices Drop: The average price of...

Gasoline Prices Drop: The average price of gasoline fell nearly 3 cents a gallon at the pump in the past three weeks, a nationwide survey found. The national average is $1.13 a gallon, 2.7 cents below the average on July 21, the Lundberg Survey reported. “A drop of this magnitude during such a short period is something that motorists have not seen since 1986,” analyst Trilby Lundberg said. She said the price fall was caused by an oversupply brought on by overcompensation on the part of refiners and importers in response to “tight refining capacity and even tighter capacity for gasoline because of new vapor regulations.” Federal vapor regulations have forced refiners to refrain from using butane for such properties as octane, she said. Production of inventory safety margins led to oversupply.