The U.S. average retail price for regular gasoline was $2.51/gallon (g) on August 31, the lowest price for the Monday before Labor Day since 2004, and 95¢/g lower than the same time last year. Declines in crude oil prices are the main driver behind falling U.S. gasoline prices. Lower crude oil prices reflect concerns about economic growth in emerging markets, expectations of higher oil exports from Iran, and continuing actual and expected growth in global crude oil inventories. The U.S. average retail gasoline price increased 47¢/g since the last week of January, when it was $2.04/g, driven by rising crude oil prices earlier in the year, strong demand during the summer driving season, and unplanned refinery outages on the West Coast and more recently in the Midwest . graph of regular retail gasoline price, as […]