Gas prices plummet in the United States

CNN Sunday, April 20, 2003 Posted: 5:59 PM EDT (2159 GMT)

CAMARILLO, California (CNN) -- The average cost of a gallon of self-serve regular gasoline continues to drop, falling slightly less than 6 cents during the past two weeks, according to a nationwide survey released Sunday.

The average price fell 5.73 cents, to $1.61, between April 4 and April 18. It marks the second straight drop in gasoline prices in the bi-weekly survey, which prior to that had been on the increase since last November, said Trilby Lundberg, publisher of the Lundberg Survey.

In the past month, the price of a gallon of self-serve regular gasoline has dropped 11.8 cents, from $1.73, a "dramatic decline," Lundberg said. This year's high of $1.73 was the survey's highest ever, not adjusting for inflation.

Lundberg credited the price cut to drops in the cost of crude oil since the beginning of the war in Iraq, which continue to be felt at the pump.

The price of crude oil was at $34.93 a barrel on March 17, the day the president gave Iraq 48 hours to give up its alleged weapons of mass destruction or face war, she said. By April 17, the price was down to $30.55, she said.

Crude oil prices probably will continue to decline as oil production in post-war Iraq, Venezuela and Nigeria continue to rebound, Lundberg said.

All that could change when OPEC meets Thursday to discuss whether to curtail crude oil production in light of decreased demand during warmer weather and the expectation of the resumption of Iraqi oil production, Lundberg said.

At $1.34 per gallon, Atlanta motorists paid the least in the nation; San Francisco Bay Area drivers paid the most, at $2.07.

Here are some other prices per gallon of self-serve regular gasoline:

• Baltimore: $1.61 • Charlotte, North Carolina: $1.48 • Chicago: $1.63 • Hartford, Connecticut: $1.67 • Salt Lake City: $1.60 • St. Louis: $1.39 • Seattle: $1.74