The average gas price in the United States has declined for ten consecutive weeks. That’s according to the weekly gas pricing report from GasBuddy. 

About two weeks after dropping below $4, the average price is now $3.86, a 5.1-cent drop from the week before and a 51.3-cent drop from a month earlier, although prices are still 72.2 cents higher than they were a year ago. 

Diesel, meanwhile, is now below $5 a gallon. 

“While some areas saw gas prices rise slightly last week, the national average saw yet another weekly decline, extending the streak to ten straight weeks. The pace of declines is certainly slowing down as oil prices have bounced up slightly, but the West Coast and Northeastern U.S. are areas that still may see gas prices decline, while the South and Midwest see the drop fade and potentially slight increases,” Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, said in the blog post release. 

“In addition to falling gasoline prices, the average price of diesel has fallen below $5 per gallon for the first time since March, likely helping to cool off aggressive inflation numbers. Thus far, Mother Nature has spared us from disruptions from hurricanes, but that remains a wildcard as we head into the peak of hurricane season.”

The country's most commonly encountered gas price is $3.49 per gallon, down ten cents from the average of a week earlier. Arkansas, at $3.37 a gallon, has the lowest average gas price, followed by Mississippi ($3.39) and Georgia ($3.40).

On Twitter, De Haan added that the drop in gas prices would likely begin showing up in CPI figures for August, possibly bringing the level of inflation down. 

The other weekly gas price report, from AAA, stated that the average price had dropped to $3.90 a gallon, a five-cent drop from the week before. 

“Drivers are now benefiting from gas prices that are $1.11 less than their peak in mid-June,” Andrew Gross, the AAA spokesperson, said in AAA’s release. “But now we need to keep an eye on the weather as hurricane season arrives. These storms can affect prices by disrupting oil production in the Gulf of Mexico and impacting large coastal refineries.” 

Florida posted the largest week-over-week decrease, of 12 cents, followed by several states whose average dropped by 11 cents, such as West Virginia, Maine, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Massachusetts. AAA also had Arkansas as the state with the lowest average, of $3.41, followed by Mississippi ($3.43), Georgia ($3.43), Texas ($3.44), Tennessee ($3.44), Louisiana ($3.46), South Carolina ($3.46), Missouri ($3.47), Alabama ($3.47) and Kansas ($3.48). 

Stephen Silver, a technology writer for The National Interest, is a journalist, essayist and film critic, who is also a contributor to The Philadelphia Inquirer, Philly Voice, Philadelphia Weekly, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Living Life Fearless, Backstage magazine, Broad Street Review and Splice Today. The co-founder of the Philadelphia Film Critics Circle, Stephen lives in suburban Philadelphia with his wife and two sons. Follow him on Twitter at @StephenSilver.

Image: Reuters.