AAA Fuel Gauge Report: Gas Prices Remain Well Below Year-Ago Levels

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Gas prices are significantly lower than last year in advance of the Labor Day holiday weekend, according to latest AAA Fuel Gauge Report.

Overall, drivers across the country continue to enjoy discounted pump prices from a year ago, even though tensions, unrest and violence in the Middle East and North Africa have kept global oil prices higher than recent summers, AAA reported.

While the national average price for regular unleaded gasoline is $3.54 per gallon -- the fourth highest on record for the calendar day of Aug. 26 and the first week-over-week increase in more than a month -- it is 10 cents less than one month ago and 21 cents less than the same day last year.

On the day after Labor Day last year, Sept. 4, motorists in eight states were paying an average of more than $4 per gallon, including seven in the continental United States: California, Connecticut, Illinois, Michigan, New York, Oregon and Washington. Today, no state is averaging more than $4 per regular gallon, and gas prices in three states -- Oregon, Nevada and Washington -- dropped by nearly a nickel per regular gallon since last Monday.

However, three Midwest states have seen prices jump by more than 4 cents. They include Ohio (up 4.8 cents), Michigan (up 7 cents) and Indiana (up 8.3 cents). Regionally, the highest prices in the continental U.S. are in the Northeast and West Coast.