Average gas price falls below $2.50 a gallon nationwide: survey

CAMARILLO, Calif. — The average price of regular gasoline nationwide has dropped another 25 cents a gallon in the past two weeks, to $2.47.

Industry analyst Trilby Lundberg said Sunday that prices will likely keep falling.

Lundberg says the average price of regular gasoline is the lowest it’s been in more than five years.

Drivers who filled up in Chicago paid an average of $2.84 a gallon Sunday, down from $3.53 a year ago, according to AAA’s Daily Fuel Gauge Report. In the metro area, the average price was $2.54 a gallon compared with $3.34 a year ago. Statewide, a gallon of regular unleaded cost $2.42, down from $3.25 last December.

Lundberg says lower crude oil prices are driving prices down, along with an abundant oil supply and the rising value of the U.S. dollar.

The highest-priced gas in the Lower 48 states was found in Long Island, New York, at $2.82 a gallon. The lowest was in Tulsa, Oklahoma, at $2.06 a gallon.

California’s lowest average was in Sacramento, at $2.58 a gallon.

The average price for midgrade gas in the U.S. is $2.71. For premium it’s $2.87.