Reuters | U.S. average retail gasoline prices fell about 9 cents
per gallon in two weeks, and could fall more as crude oil prices
decline, according to the latest Lundberg survey.

The national average for self-serve regular unleaded gasoline was about
$2.8279 a gallon  May 21, down 9.25 cents per gallon in the last two
weeks, the nationwide Lundberg survey of U.S. gas stations showed.

The decline comes two weeks after the average price of U.S. gasoline hit a 19-month high. Since then, however, crude oil prices have slid to around $70 a barrel from $87 earlier in the month, due to increasing stockpiles.

“If crude oil prices do not bounce back up fairly quickly, we will probably see another 5-10 cent drop in prices as retailers pass through more of the wholesale price cuts that they are receiving,” survey editor Trilby Lundberg said.

“They must attempt to hang on to at least part of those for a while because their margins have been skinny — but they will give up some of the cuts in order to compete for sales with lower retail prices,” she said.

At $3.10 a gallon, the San Francisco Bay area had the highest average price for self-serve regular unleaded gas, while the lowest price was $2.62 a gallon in Jackson, Miss.