AlHijjah 20, 1433, Nov 5, 2012, SPA -- The average U.S. price for a gallon of regular gasoline took its biggest drop since 2008 in the past two weeks, due to lower crude oil prices, a big price drop in pump price in California, and Hurricane Sandy, according to a widely followed survey released Monday. The Lundberg Survey said gasoline prices averaged $3.5454 per gallon on November 2, down 20.75 cents from October 19 when drivers were paying $3.7529. The decline was the biggest two-week price drop since the survey recorded a 21.9 cents price decline December 5, 2008 due to a crash in petroleum demand during the global recession, the survey said. The November 2 survey shows that gas prices fell a total of 29.21 cents in the last month, according Trilby Lundberg, the editor of the Lundberg Survey. The highest prices for regular gasoline recorded in the survey were in San Francisco at $4.05 a gallon, while drivers in Memphis, Tennessee were paying the least at $3.11 per gallon Even though many people had to line-up for gasoline for hours after Hurricane Sandy devastated much of the Northeast coast, the storm contributed in the price decline as many consumers were not able to travel as a result, Lundberg said. However, supply shortages were not causing an increase in the average price of gasoline, she said. Another reason for the total U.S. price decline in the latest survey is California, the biggest state consumer, where pump prices fell 49 cents in past two weeks after an extreme price increase a month ago because of refinery problems.
