Gas Prices Dip, Ending 3 Months of Increases

U.S. and California gasoline prices edged down from record highs with the help of a 12% drop in crude oil prices this month, a federal survey showed Monday.

The statewide drop was barely noticeable -- eight-tenths of one cent a gallon -- but it ended three straight months of increases that had lifted the average price of self-serve regular to nearly $2.60 a gallon and some premium-grade prices above $3 a gallon.

In the week ended Monday, the average regular price slipped to $2.584 a gallon from $2.592 the prior week, according to a weekly survey by the Energy Information Administration, the statistics arm of the Energy Department.

It was the first decline since the week ended Jan. 10. But the latest price still remained 43.6 cents a gallon higher than a year ago.

The national average also fell, losing 4.3 cents in the latest week to $2.237 a gallon, the EIA said.

Gasoline prices have turned lower after a slide in oil prices from record highs set two weeks ago. Crude oil accounts for about half of the price of a gallon of gasoline.

The benchmark U.S. light crude oil for May delivery fell 12 cents to $50.37 a barrel Monday on the New York Mercantile Exchange. That’s down from a Nymex-record closing high of $57.27 a barrel set April 1.