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NEW YORK (CNN/Money) -
Gasoline dipped slightly Tuesday while diesel prices eased from the record high set the day before session, according to the daily report issued by the travel club AAA.
The average nationwide price for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline fell by over a penny to $2.871 a gallon from $2.885 Monday, AAA reported.
Gas prices peaked on Labor Day in the wake of Hurricane Katrina and have fluctuated since, falling as low as $2.755 a gallon Sept. 22.
A year ago, the average cost of a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline was $1.961, AAA reported.
Hitting a record price of $3.209 a gallon on Monday, the average nationwide price for diesel fell Tuesday to $3.201 a gallon, according to AAA.
This time last year, diesel prices were at $2.085 a gallon, the travel club reported.
After Hurricane Rita slammed into the Texas-Louisiana Gulf Coast, many Texas refineries went off line, sparking fears of gasoline shortages.
In its recent assessment of the hurricanes' impact, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said roughly 2.1 million barrels per day (bpd) in U.S. oil refining capacity remain offline due to hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
The agency's next weekly inventory report is due Wednesday, with analysts polled by Reuters expecting a decline in gasoline stocks of 1.5 million barrels.
In last week's report, the EIA said that gasoline demand has fallen over the last four weeks by 2.6 percent below the same time last year, averaging nearly 8.8 million barrels per day.
In a survey released Sunday, the publisher predicted that gas prices may fall in the weeks ahead as refineries come back online, according to the Lundberg survey.
The Bush administration announced a conservation campaign last week that would encourage reductions in gasoline consumption and other fuels .
President Bush has also urged Congress to draft a bill that would allow for the construction of new refineries and ultimately alleviate recent high gas prices.
Midgrade and premium gasoline also fell Tuesday. The nationwide average price for midgrade gasoline was $3.048 a gallon, down from $3.060 Monday. Premium gas prices sank by over a penny as well to $3.159 from $3.173 a gallon Monday, AAA reported.
AAA's "Daily Fuel Gauge Report" also revealed that Hawaii still has the most expensive gas in the country, with the average cost of regular unleaded at $3.448. Gas in Oklahoma was the cheapest, with regular unleaded at $2.547, on average.
-- from staff and wire reports
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