WASHINGTON – The national retail price for unleaded gasoline dropped 0.7 cents from last week to $1.437 a gallon, falling for the fifth week in a row, the U.S. Energy Department's statistical agency reported Monday.
The pump price is still 31 cents a gallon higher than a year ago, based on the Energy Information Administration's weekly survey of 800 service stations.
West Coast drivers paid the most for gasoline, with the price down 2.4 cents to $1.661 a gallon. The lower Atlantic states had the cheapest fuel, down 2.5 cents a gallon to $1.375, according to the EIA.
Prices continue to fall as more crude oil from OPEC nations arrives in the U.S. market, giving refiners plenty of oil to process into gasoline.
The EIA forecasts that gasoline will average $1.46 a gallon this summer, up 29 cents from last year. That number could be revised down when the agency releases its next summer fuel forecast in two weeks.