Survey: Gas prices post first drop since January

(CNN) -- The average price of gasoline dropped more than 7 cents over the past three weeks, to $3.11 per gallon of self-serve regular, the first price drop since January, a national survey said Sunday.

The "Lundberg Survey" of about 5,000 gas stations was carried out June 8 and May 18.

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The 7.37-cent drop comes nowhere near offsetting the $1.00 rise in the price of gas that occurred between January 19 and May 18, said survey publisher Trilby Lundberg.

"It's unlikely we can see the other 93 cents any time soon," she told CNN in a telephone interview.

Most of that 7 cents relief came from lower prices charged for gas produced in refineries outside the United States, she said.

"Some of our domestic refining capacity is still just limping along, after at least four months of extraordinary down time," she said, citing seasonal maintenance and more than 30 other events "that were beyond ordinary seasonal tune-ups," including fires and explosions.

At present, the nation's refineries are operating at 89.6 percent capacity, down about 6 points from normal, she said.

No new refineries have been built in the United States for decades.

Chicago drivers paid the most, at $3.61 per gallon; Jackson, Miss., drivers the least, at $2.87.

Here are some prices in other cities:

-- Dallas: $2.97

-- Atlanta: $3.02

-- Boston: $3.04

-- Indianapolis: $3.14

-- Las Vegas: $3.15

-- Portland, Ore: $3.18

-- Los Angeles: $3.25