Gasoline Prices Fall 6 Cents Nationwide

Gasoline prices dropped 6 cents a gallon nationwide over the last two weeks, the first decrease in four months and the biggest two-week drop since October 2001, according to a nationwide survey released Sunday.

Increased certainty about Middle East oil supplies resulted in falling crude oil prices, which led to the decrease, industry analyst Trilby Lundberg said.

The average price for gasoline nationwide, including all grades and taxes, was about $1.70 a gallon Friday, according to the Lundberg survey of approximately 8,000 gas stations. That was a decrease of 6.03 cents from March 21, the date of the last Lundberg survey.

It was the biggest two-week drop since the price of a gallon of gasoline fell 6.6 cents in late October 2001.

The most expensive gasoline was found in San Francisco at $2.15 a gallon, while the cheapest was found in Tulsa, Okla., at $1.38 a gallon, according to the survey.

California prices have soared as the wholesale price for the state’s new gasoline blend -- made with corn-based ethanol -- has shot up in recent trading on the spot market.

Lundberg said gasoline prices across the country probably will continue to drop in the near term “because world crude oil supplies seem to be more secure now and because U.S. refiners are gearing up to supply plenty of gasoline.”

Oil market jitters have been calmed because only a few oil fields have been set ablaze in Iraq, and the fires were extinguished quickly, Lundberg said.

The price of a barrel of oil was $28.62 Friday, down from $34.93 on March 17.

The national weighted average price of gasoline, including taxes, at self-serve pumps Friday was about $1.67 for regular, $1.76 for mid-grade and $1.85 for premium.