Gasoline prices have been falling for weeks, and they could go even lower as autumn’s leaves begin to drop.
The national average for a gallon of unleaded regular was $2.681 on Friday, according to AAA, Wright Express and Oil Price Information Service. That’s 6.6 cents lower than a month ago and 8.5 cents higher than a year ago.
The national average has stayed below $3 a gallon for nearly two years, and most analysts think it won’t return to that level anytime soon.
In Denver, prices rose, averaging $2.702 Friday, up from $2.597 a month ago.
“We’ve got gasoline supplies moving higher rather than lower, so until we get unemployment down, you’re just not going to see much of an increase in gasoline demand,” said Jim Ritterbusch, president of energy consultancy Ritterbusch and Associates.
The government said Friday that the jobless rate rose in August to 9.6 percent from 9.5 percent in July. High unemployment means fewer commuters on the road. Combined with a glut of supply and the end of the summer driving season, it also means retail gas prices are likely to continue to slip.
The last time the retail price was at or above $3 a gallon was in October 2008 after a busy summer season when prices topped $4 a gallon.
When the economy showed signs of recovering from the recession this year, experts predicted pump prices would top $3 by Memorial Day. But the price peaked at $2.92 a gallon in early May as fears about the pace of the economic recovery intensified and consumers conserved cash.
