Gift for Drivers: Lower Gasoline Prices

One of the best shopping deals consumers will get this holiday season is cheaper gasoline, as fuel prices across the nation average about 11 cents a gallon less than they did a year ago, the U.S. Department of Energy said this week in its weekly gasoline survey. As of Monday, the cash price for self-serve regular gasoline was $1.12 a gallon--the sixth consecutive weekly decline in gasoline prices, the department said. Gasoline prices began the year at about $1.23 a gallon but dropped as prices for crude oil fell. Retail prices bottomed out at $1.17 in midsummer, but unusually strong demand in July strained supply and pushed prices up again to a peak of about $1.24 around Labor Day in early September. Since then, retail gasoline prices have been falling steadily, the department said.