Gas prices fall as demand drops and refineries restart
Published 9:00 pm Sunday, September 25, 2005
CAMARILLO, Calif. – Retail gas prices dropped an average 20 cents in the past two weeks because of decreased demand and a comeback by Gulf Coast refineries that were hurt by Hurricane Katrina, according to a nationwide survey released Sunday.
The weighted average price for all three grades declined to $2.84 a gallon for the two weeks ending Sept. 23, said Trilby Lundberg, who publishes the semimonthly Lundberg Survey of 7,000 gas stations around the country.
Self-serve regular averaged $2.81 a gallon nationwide. Mid-grade was pegged at $2.91, while premium grade was at $3.01.
The survey was taken before Hurricane Rita slammed into Texas and Louisiana this weekend.
On Sunday, the average retail cost of gasoline nationwide was $2.78 a gallon, up 2 cents from the day before and 90 cents higher than a year earlier, according to the Oil Price Information Service.
