Gas prices down 7 cents in past two weeks

Gas spending and prices by state

Prices at the pump can vary widely among states due to a number of factors. More

ATLANTA (CNN) -- Gasoline prices fell more than 7 cents a gallon over the past two weeks, despite a rise in crude oil prices, according to a survey published Sunday.

The average price of a gallon of self-serve regular gasoline at metropolitan-area stations was $2.4859, the Lundberg Survey found -- a decline of 7.14 cents from two weeks ago. That drop came despite an $8-per-gallon rise in the price of crude oil in that period, said survey publisher Trilby Lundberg.

"The price would have risen instead of falling ... if not for profit-margin losses for refiners and retailers," she said. "Both refiners and gasoline retailers failed to pass through the higher oil prices and instead took cuts in their own margins."

Poor demand for gasoline because of rising unemployment was one reason the refiners and retailers absorbed the cuts, she said.

But she added they "can't hold out forever."

"They will need to pass on to consumers through the system at least a dime's worth of oil price pressure," she said.

"I think that it will be soon," she added. "For example, even if crude prices slip back slightly I think we can expect a gentle rise in retail gasoline," both because of the current thin market levels and the usual lag time for price rises to work through the system.

In fact, the daily gas price survey conducted for motorist group AAA has shown the national average for regular has risen the past five days. On Sunday, it was up 1.1 cents to $2.492 a gallon.

The current prices are $1.51 per gallon below where they were a year ago, Lundberg said. On July 29, 2008, the average price was $3.9959 a gallon, down from that summer's peak of $4.1124.

The city with the lowest average price in the latest survey was Jackson, Miss., with $2.22 a gallon for regular self-serve. The highest average was in Honolulu, at $3.03, Lundberg said.

Here are the average prices in some other cities: Houston, $2.29; Tucson, Ariz., $2.30; Little Rock, Ark., $2.33; Atlanta, $2.35; Cleveland, $2.40; Detroit, $2.43; Minneapolis, $2.49; Hartford, Conn., $2.55; Portland, Ore., $2.60; San Diego, $2.76.