ENERGY

Retail Gasoline Prices Drop Slightly: Prices at the nation’s gasoline pumps fell more than 2 cents per gallon in the past three weeks, according to a survey released Sunday. The average price for all grades, both self-serve and full-service, was $1.33.13 a gallon on Friday, said Trilby Lundberg, whose Lundberg Survey monitors prices at 10,000 gas stations nationwide. That is down 2.15 cents a gallon from the average of the June 21 survey, continuing a decline that began earlier, she said. The latest price represents “a total of a nickel decline in the past seven weeks,” said Lundberg, and it represents a reversal from the trend for rising prices earlier in the year. The average rose more than 20 cents from January to May, driven by higher crude oil prices and a very tight gasoline supply, she said. When crude oil prices subsequently dropped, gasoline prices followed. Now that crude oil prices have stabilized, the decline in retail gasoline prices could slow. According to the latest survey, self-serve prices averaged $1.26.55 a gallon for regular unleaded, $1.36.43 for mid-grade unleaded and $1.44.71 for premium. Full-service prices averaged $1.59.72 a gallon for regular unleaded, $1.68.37 for mid-grade and $1.75.06 for premium.