Retail gasoline prices rose only a fraction of a penny in the past three weeks, ending a steep climb of 21 cents a gallon since early June, an analyst said Sunday.
The average price for a gallon of self-serve gasoline nationwide, including all grades and taxes, was $1.75 on Friday according to the Lundberg Survey of 8,000 stations.
That was up about .29 of a cent since August 22 when the last Lundberg Survey was taken.
Lundberg said the end of the summer driving season and a general reduction in crude oil prices helped lower prices.
Price cuts already were occurring in some parts of the country, including much of the West coast, and in parts of the Midwest and Gulf Coast states, Lundberg said.
“I expect gasoline prices to go down from here,” analyst Trilby Lundberg said.
The earlier increase was the largest retail price hike on record since the Lundberg Survey began keeping records 50 years ago.
Two-thirds of it came during the two-week period from Aug. 8 through Aug. 22.
During August, East Coast and Midwest electricity blackouts shut down several refineries, while a West Coast pipeline rupture halted gasoline deliveries to Phoenix and soaked up already tight regional supplies.
As of Friday, self-serve regular gasoline showed an average weighted price of $1.72 a gallon, with midgrade at $1.82 and premium at $1.91.