Average Price at Pump Drops 33 Cents in One Week

WASHINGTON, D.C. --- The U.S. average price for regular gasoline plummeted by 33.3 cents to hit $3.151 per gallon, according to an Oct. 16 report from the Energy Information Administration (EIA).

The price was the lowest since Feb. 25 of this year though still 38.9 cents above the price at the same time last year. Prices were sharply lower in all regions of the country, the EIA said.

The national average price has now fallen for four weeks in a row, with a cumulative drop of more than 68 cents per gallon. The price on the East Coast fell 32.1 cents to $3.223 per gallon. In the Midwest and Gulf Coast regions, the average price tumbled by more than 40 cents. As a result, the average price in both regions slipped below $3 a gallon.

The price dropped 40.1 cents to $2.992 per gallon in the Midwest and shot down by 44.6 cents to $2.99 per gallon in the Gulf Coast. The price in the Rocky Mountains fell 22.8 cents to $3.268 per gallon. Dropping for the 16th consecutive week, the price on the West Coast fell another 14.7 cents to hit $3.421 per gallon. The price in California lost 13.1 cents to settle at $3.47 per gallon.