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NEW YORK (CNN/Money) -
Gasoline prices fell nearly two cents a gallon Wednesday while diesel prices edged lower, according to a daily report issued by travel club AAA.
The average nationwide price for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline fell to $2.854 a gallon from $2.871 Tuesday, AAA reported.
Gas prices peaked at $3.057 on Labor Day in the wake of Hurricane Katrina and have fluctuated since, falling as low as $2.755 a gallon Sept. 22.
A year ago, the average cost of a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline was $1.972, AAA reported.
After a string of record prices last week, the average nationwide price for diesel inched lower Wednesday to $3.192 from $3.201 a gallon, according to AAA. The record of $3.209 was reached Monday.
This time last year, diesel prices were at $2.115 a gallon, the travel club reported.
After Hurricane Rita slammed into the Texas-Louisiana Gulf Coast, many Texas refineries went off line, sparking fears of gasoline shortages.
In its recent assessment of the hurricanes' impact, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said roughly 2.1 million barrels per day (bpd) in U.S. oil refining capacity remain offline due to hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
The agency's weekly inventory report is due at 10:30 a.m. ET Thursday, with analysts polled by Reuters expecting a decline in gasoline stocks of 1.6 million barrels.
In last week's report, the EIA said that gasoline demand has fallen over the last four weeks by 2.6 percent below the same time last year, averaging nearly 8.8 million barrels per day.
In a survey released Sunday, the publisher predicted that gas prices may fall in the weeks ahead as refineries come back online, according to the Lundberg survey.
The Bush administration announced a conservation campaign last week that would encourage reductions in gasoline consumption and other fuels .
President Bush has also urged Congress to draft a bill that would allow for the construction of new refineries and ultimately alleviate recent high gas prices.
Midgrade and premium gasoline also fell by near two cents Wednesday. The nationwide average price for midgrade gasoline was $3.029 a gallon down from $3.048 Tuesday. Premium gas prices sank to $3.140 from $3.159 a gallon Tuesday, AAA reported.
AAA's "Daily Fuel Gauge Report" also revealed that Hawaii still has the most expensive gas in the country, with the average cost of regular unleaded at $3.481. Gas in Oklahoma was the cheapest, with regular unleaded at $2.519, on average.
-- from staff and wire reports
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