Gas prices: Down 11% from July high
Gasoline prices fell for the ninth day in a row as Hurricane Ike headed toward Texas and Louisiana. Prices are still up 83 cents from a year ago.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Gasoline prices fell yet again, according to a nationwide survey of gas station credit card swipes. The decline comes as focus turns toward Hurrican Ike -- expected to hit the central to southern coast of Texas by the end of the week.
The average price of regular unleaded gasoline fell 0.6 cents to $3.652 a gallon from $3.658 a day earlier, motorist group AAA said Tuesday.
Hurricane Ike front and center and on a path toward the Gulf of Mexico, where it could make landfall anywhere from northern Mexico to southern Louisiana. Ike was downgraded to a Category 1 storm late Monday but could still regain strength. It cut through Cuba as a Category 3 hurricane late Sunday.
Gas prices eased Texas and Florida but rose in the Carolinas, Louisiana and Georgia. Nationwide, Alaska and Hawaii remained the two states with gas prices still tracking above $4 a gallon. The cheapest gas was now found in New Jersey, where prices averaged $3.426 a gallon.
Crude prices have trended lower amid heightened concern about weakening demand and in reaction to the slew of storms and hurricanes. Last week, oil prices fell to their lowest level in five months.
On Monday, crude futures for October delivery gave up nearly $3 in gains to end little changed as concerns about Ike dissipated. Early Tuesday, oil prices fell $1.15 a barrel to $105.19.
Meanwhile, Gas has fallen about 11.2%, or 46 cents, from the record high average of $4.114 that AAA reported on July 17, but they are still 83 cents above this time last year.
While Americans had cut back on driving during the typically heavy traffic summer months, it remains to be seen whether the trend will hold. 
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