Yeah, that's right -- what goes up does, indeed, come down -- including the price of filling your tank and taking a drive.

Gas prices are down for the first time since January, according to a national survey released Sunday.

The average price of a gallon of self-serve regular gasoline has dropped more than 7 cents in the past three weeks, to $3.11, the survey found.

Drivers in Jackson, Mississippi, are getting the best deal at $2.87 per gallon. Chicago drivers are paying the most -- $3.61.

The Lundberg Survey of about 5,000 gas stations was carried out June 8 and May 18.

When the average price of gasoline hit $3.18 in May, it was the highest price ever recorded, even when adjusted for inflation, according to a previous Lundberg survey.

The 7.37-cent drop comes nowhere near offsetting the $1.00 rise in the price of gas that occurred between January 19 and May 18, said survey publisher Trilby Lundberg.

"It's unlikely we can see the other 93 cents any time soon," she told CNN in a telephone interview.

Most of that 7-cents-relief came from lower prices charged for gas produced in refineries outside the United States, she said.

"Some of our domestic refining capacity is still just limping along, after at least four months of extraordinary down time," she said, citing seasonal maintenance and more than 30 other events "that were beyond ordinary seasonal tune-ups," including fires and explosions.

The nation's refineries are operating at 89.6 percent capacity, down about 6 points from normal, she said.

And I agree that we are unlikely to see the other 93 cents in the near term, but i wouldn't be surprised to see the prices drop some more -- around here I'm paying $2.89 -- I wouldn't be surprised to see $2.50 to $2.75 before the summer has ended.

Posted by: Greg at 05:09 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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