Gas drops nearly 16 cents in the last three weeks

By Reuters

NEW YORK -- The average price for a gallon of regular gasoline in the United States fell 15.9 cents to $3.624 in the past three weeks due to a drop in crude oil, which took a hit from fears over Europe's economy and a stronger dollar, the Lundberg Survey showed.

The national average for regular gasoline as of June 8 was down more than 11.62 cents from the year-earlier level of $3.74 a gallon, according to the survey of some 2,500 gasoline stations in the continental United States.

The price was the lowest since the Feb. 10 survey, which recorded an average of $3.51 per gallon.

It was the fourth straight survey to show a price decline. Prices peaked at $3.967 on April 6 and have been falling ever since, down 34.28 cents, survey editor Trilby Lundberg said.

The average price of a gallon of diesel has fallen by nearly the same amount, down 30.61 cents over the past nine weeks and 17.64 cents over the past three, to $3.9089.

Both gasoline and diesel prices are lower than a year ago.

"U.S. fuel consumers have had a significant benefit as both diesel and gasoline prices crashed. Crude oil is the cause of both," Lundberg said.

The average price of a gallon of gasoline at self-serve stations was the lowest in Jackson, Mississippi at $3.18. Seattle had the highest at $4.22, partly because of a fire at BP's Cherry Point refinery in Washington state.

TODAY consumer correspondent Janice Lieberman discusses some of the gadgets stores like Macy's and Nordstrom are using that some of the same functions as customer service representatives.

Copyright 2011 Thomson Reuters. Click for restrictions.

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