Real Gas Prices Hit 6-Year Low = $350B Savings

CAMARILLO, Calif. (AP) - The average national price of gasoline fell 9 cents in the past two weeks, bringing it to its lowest point in nearly five years, according to a national survey released Sunday. The average price of regular gasoline Friday was $1.66 a gallon, oil industry analyst Trilby Lundberg said. The last time gas prices dipped so low was in February 2004, Lundberg said, when the national average for regular was also around $1.66 a gallon. The all-time high was on July 11, 2008, when the price peaked at $4.11 a gallon.

MP: In inflation-adjusted dollars, real gas prices are at a six-year low, reaching the lowest level since December 2002 (see chart above), according to real gas price data from the EIA. The $2.45 per gallon decline to the current $1.66 from the $4.11 July peak represents annual savings for American consumers and businesses of almost $350 billion (each penny decrease saves consumers about $4 million per day, or $1.4235 billion annually).