NEW YORK (CNN) - Gasoline prices have fallen to the lowest level since late January.

According to the latest information from the American Automobile Association, the average price nationwide for self-serve regular gasoline dropped by 10.5 cents to $1.497 a gallon. On Jan. 28, a gallon of gasoline cost $1.478 on average.

Prices peaked at $1.722 a gallon in mid-March, just ahead of the war in Iraq.

AAA attributes the drop in prices to a decline in crude oil prices since the start of the war against Iraq and an increase in oil production in Venezuela since it ended its labor strikes.

Still, the average price for gasoline is almost 10 cents higher than a year ago as many Americans get set for the summer vacation season, when many of them will be driving.