Gasoline Prices Dip During Holiday Weekend

Despite speculation that fuel prices might jump even higher as consumers took to the road over the Memorial Day weekend, the average price for self-serve regular in the state dipped to $1.947 a gallon as of Monday from $1.951 a gallon the prior week, the government said.

The price peaked two weeks ago, at $1.954 a gallon.

The latest decline also occurred despite a slight increase in the average national price for self-serve regular, which rose to $1.704 a gallon from $1.687 a gallon the prior week, the Energy Department’s Energy Information Administration said.

Prices in California typically eclipse national prices because of the state’s strict environmental regulations on refining. Some energy analysts are suggesting that gasoline prices have either peaked, or are about to, because of a gradual buildup in gasoline inventories and an increase in gasoline imports into the United States.