Survey: Gas prices fall more than six cents

Sunday, May 4, 2003 Posted: 7:56 PM EDT (2356 GMT)

FACT BOX Gasoline prices in selected U.S. cities. Prices are per gallon of regular: Atlanta, Georgia: $1.33 Charleston, South Carolina: $1.34 Houston, Texas: $1.42 Salt Lake City, Utah: $1.56 Boston, Massachusetts: $1.61 Chicago, Illinois: $1.62

CAMARILLO, California (CNN) -- The average price of a gallon of self-serve regular gasoline has plummeted for the sixth week in a row, falling during that time more than 18 cents, according to a nationwide survey released Sunday.

In the two-week period that ended May 2, the nationwide price fell 6.34 cents, to $1.55, said Trilby Lundberg, publisher of the Lundberg Survey.

The reasons for the price declines haven't changed since March 21, when the average gas price was $1.73 per gallon, she said.

Crude oil prices began falling after the U.S.-led war on Iraq was launched and fears receded that Iraq would set its wells afire, Lundberg said.

"That fear was removed," she said.

The situation in Venezuela, another potential source of uncertainty, has also stabilized, Lundberg noted.

A general strike in December cut petroleum output from the world's fifth-largest oil exporter to a trickle, but Venezuelan officials say they have boosted production back to pre-strike levels, Lundberg said.

Despite the recent drops in price, the average price for self-service regular gasoline is still nearly 13 cents higher than it was this time last year.

The lowest average survey price was in Tulsa, Oklahoma, at $1.29; the highest was in San Francisco, California, at $1.99.