Associated Press | Gasoline prices dropped for the 26th straight
day Tuesday. After hitting an average of $2.929 per gallon in the U.S.
May 6, retail gasoline prices have fallen 20.2 cents, or nearly 7
percent, to $2.727 per gallon on Tuesday.

Tom Kloza of the Oil Price Information Service said while the daily
streak of lower prices is likely to end before mid-June, prices still
have another 10 or 12 cents to fall.

Prices in some parts of the country are well below the national average. Ohio, Missouri, South Carolina and Oklahoma are among the states where gas has dropped below $2.60 per gallon. A gallon of regular uunleaded averaged $2.963 on Tuesday.

The federal government will release its weekly report on gasoline prices nationwide later Tuesday.

Oil has fallen from $87.15 per barrel a month ago amid worries that the European debt crisis could hurt the global economic recovery and squash demand for crude.

Retail gasoline prices fell 0.5 cents overnight, 5.5 cents in the last week and 15.6 cents in the last month. Pump prices are 21.5 cents higher than a year ago.

Oil prices turned around Tuesday after initially moving lower. Benchmark crude for July delivery rose 6 cents, to $74.03 a barrel, on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract settled down 58 cents, at $73.97, on Friday. U.S. markets were closed Monday for the Memorial Day holiday. Crude traded as high as $75.17 a barrel in Europe on Monday.

Oil prices moved higher as the euro rose against the dollar after hitting a four-year low earlier Tuesday. At the same time, U.S. stock markets gained ground after the Commerce Department said construction spending rose by the biggest amount in nearly a decade and the Institute for Supply Management said its manufacturing index came in better in May than economists forecast.

Commodities priced in dollars, like oil, become more expensive for investors holding euros when the dollar gains.

In other Nymex trading in July contracts, heating oil added 0.48 cent at $2.0093 a gallon. Gasoline lost 0.74 cent at $2.0192 a gallon. Natural gas fell 6,3 cents to $4.278 per 1,000 cubic feet.

In London, the Brent crude July contact fell 50 cents to $74.15 on the ICE futures exchange.