Gasoline prices fall another 2.6 cents

WASHINGTON -- Gasoline prices continued their decline, falling to a national average of just over $1.89 a gallon for regular grade last week, the Energy Department reported Tuesday.

The 2.6 cents a gallon decrease marked the sixth week that gasoline prices have dropped nationwide after reaching $2.06 a gallon in the week ending May 22.

While prices have dropped nearly 17 cents a gallon over the last six weeks, motorists still are paying an average of almost 47 cents a gallon more this year than at the same time a year ago, according to the DOE's Energy Information Administration.

The EIA survey is based on prices sampled at 900 retail gasoline outlets nationwide.

The most expensive gasoline continued to be on the West Coast, where the average was $2.13 a gallon, including $2.20 a gallon in California. The cheapest gasoline was found in the Gulf Coast region where the average price was just over $1.78 a gallon.