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NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) - Prices at the pump kept up their steady descent Wednesday ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday, according to travel club AAA.

The nationwide average price for regular unleaded fell a penny to $2.189 a gallon Wednesday, according to AAA's daily fuel report.

Diesel remained little changed at $2.656 a gallon, but average prices have lost about 57 cents in the last month.

Gas prices have shed about 28 percent from the record high of $3.057 reached Labor Day, following Hurricane Katrina, but they are still up nearly 13 percent from an average $1.942 a gallon a year ago, according to AAA.

Despite higher gas prices, the travel club expects holiday travel to remain strong. A separate AAA survey estimates that 37.3 million Americans will travel 50 miles or more from home this Thanksgiving holiday, with about 83 percent of those making trips doing so by car, about the same percent as a year ago. (Full story.)

Gasoline prices have steadily fallen in the last month on signs that the soaring expense of energy is finally starting to curb consumption within the U.S., the world's biggest user of fuel.

On a state-by-state basis, AAA says Hawaii residents pay the most for regular unleaded at $2.728 a gallon. Missouri has the lowest prices at $1.964 a gallon.

The average price for a gallon of mid-grade gasoline fell about one cent Wednesday to $2.325, according to AAA. Premium unleaded also lost a penny, dropping to $2.409 a gallon.

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