Pump Price Update
Jane Van Ryan
Posted October 7, 2009
If a picture is worth a thousand words, the graph below speaks volumes about the price of gasoline. It illustrates how much gasoline's pump price has fallen in various regions of the country since gasoline reached a record high in July 2008.
Note: Image updated 10/08/2009
According to the Department of Energy's Energy Information Administration (EIA), the average U.S. retail price for all grades of gasoline fell $3.13 cents a gallon from the prior week, to $2.523 a gallon. The average price for regular grade gasoline finished the week ending October 5 at $2.468 a gallon.
Gasoline prices historically have tracked crude oil prices, which are determined on the global crude oil markets. Last year, high worldwide demand for oil relative to supply pushed oil prices up. Then as prices rose, demand declined and the economic downturn reinforced the fall.
For more information about oil and gasoline prices, check the graphs in Energizing America: Facts for Addressing Energy Policy embedded below.