Pump Prices Fall to Six-Month Low

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Falling oil prices and a slowdown in economic growth have pushed prices at the pump to a six-month low.

A new report by the Energy Department's Energy Information Administration shows that the price for regular gas, averaged nationwide, decreased 8.1 cents or 2.4 percent to hit $3.356 a gallon today from a week ago, according to Businessweek. That is 6.2 percent below year-ago levels.

U.S gas prices have not been this low since Jan. 2, when it averaged $3.299 a gallon. Today's price represents a 15-percent decrease from this year's high of $3.941 a gallon on April 2. At that time there was fear that motorist could be hit with $5 per gallon to fill up.

"Prices are still reflecting, in general, lower crude prices," said David Hackett, president of Stillwater Associates in Irvine, Calif., an independent fuel consultant. "If there's any increase in crude prices, it'll take some time before that change gets reflected at the street level."

Gas demand has also dropped in the past few weeks, the news outlet reported. The average U.S. gas demand for the four weeks ended June 22 saw a 4.8-percent decrease from a year earlier to 8.83 million barrels a day, the energy department's stats showed.

Gasoline fell the most this week in the Midwest region, where prices dropped 10.8 cents to $3.323 a gallon, Businessweek added.