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NEW YORK (CNN/Money) -
Retail gasoline prices fell by a fraction of a cent Wednesday following two days of gains, according to AAA's daily fuel gauge report, reflecting promising news about limited damage from Hurricane Rita.
The national average for regular unleaded gasoline at the pump by less than a penny to $2.811 a gallon from $2.813 Tuesday, according to the travel club.
Gasoline prices have fallen steadily since Labor Day, when prices crested at $3.057 following Hurricane Katrina. Pump prices were expected to spike before Hurricane Rita hit the Gulf Coast, but the nationwide average price for gasoline trended just slightly higher earlier this week.
The average cost of a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline was $1.907 a year ago, AAA reported.
Rita caused significant damage when it slammed into the Texas-Louisiana Gulf Coast early Saturday morning with 120 mph winds, although it was less destructive than Hurricane Katrina.
While crude oil output was shut by the storm, many Texas refineries were spared.
The publisher of the Lundberg survey, a comparable study of gas prices around the U.S. released Sunday, believed that prices will probably fall another 10 to 20 cents per gallon once refineries shuttered by Katrina and Rita come back online.
Mid-grade and premium gasoline also fell slightly across the country Tuesday. The nationwide average at the pump for mid-grade gasoline dipped to $2.985 from $2.988 a gallon Tuesday. Premium gasoline also fell by less than a penny by just under two cents to $3.093 a gallon from $3.095, AAA reported.
Diesel prices climbed by a penny to $2.876 from Tuesday's price of $2.866.
AAA's "Daily Fuel Gauge Report" revealed that gasoline in Hawaii was the most expensive in the country, with the average cost of regular unleaded being $3.265. Gas in Oklahoma was the cheapest, with regular unleaded at $2.603, on average.
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Retail prices might be heading lower, but what about the wholesale market? Click here.
Click here for CNN/Money's special report 'Oil Crunch 2005'.
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