Gas prices spiral lower
Fuel prices continue plunge below $1.70, but demand ticks higher.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- The average price of gasoline in the U.S. continued its downward spiral for the 84th day, according to a daily survey of credit card swipes.
The price of regular unleaded fell 1.5 cents to $1.683 a gallon on average Wednesday from $1.698 the day before, according to motorist group AAA.
Prices are now more than $2 lower than they were when they hit a record-high average of $4.114 a gallon on July 17.
Gas is below $2 a gallon on average in all but three states, according to the survey: Alaska, where gas was selling for an average of $2.731 a gallon, Hawaii, where gas was $2.527, and New York at $2.035.
Gas was cheapest in Missouri at an average of $1.469 a gallon.
The price of gasoline has fallen since July along with the price of crude oil, gas's main ingredient. Crude has fallen more than $100 a barrel since July as investors worried that the U.S. economy was consuming less fuel.
The stalwart decline in fuel demand may be showing some signs of cracking, however.
Gasoline prices are starting to bottom out, according to Bob van der Valk, independent fuel price analyst in Seattle. He doesn't believe gas prices can fall below $1.
"That's the equivalent of $10 a barrel [oil], and that's not going to happen," he said.
According to a report on gasoline demand from MasterCard on Tuesday, which tracks retail gas sales, demand for fuel inched up 0.3% last week compared to a year ago. The demand uptick was small, but it was the first time demand has risen on a year-over-year basis in eight months.
"I think this is it," van der Valksaid. "[Gas prices are] stabilizing as we speak."
Diesel: The price of diesel fuel, which is used in most trucks and commercial vehicles, also continued to slide.
The price of diesel fell 1.2 cents Wednesday to a national average of $2.617 a gallon, according to the AAA survey.
Diesel prices have fallen more than $2 a gallon since hitting a record high of $4.845 on July 17.
Ethanol: As falling demand pulled down gasoline and diesel prices, the price of E85, an 85% ethanol blend made primarily from corn, fell 2.8 cents to $1.509 a gallon on average, according to AAA.
E85 can be used in place of regular gas in specially configured "flex-fuel" vehicles, but it is not readily available in some states.
The AAA figures are state-wide averages based on credit card swipes at up to 100,000 service stations across the nation. Individual drivers may see lower fuel prices in different areas of each state. 
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