According to the latest AAA statistics, the national average price for one gallon of regular gasoline has witnessed a fall in many parts of the US, though the figures still continue to be higher than the year before figures.

Projecting that the US gas prices will apparently end the year at a lower level than what they began with, AAA revealed that the national average price for a gallon of gas on Wednesday was $3.43; which marked a 44-cent fall from the mid-September fuel costs, though it was still 8 cents more than the figures which were reported for the same time last year.

The AAA statistics further showed that the national average gas price at the beginning of 2012 was $3.28 per gallon; and projected that the gas prices will remain in the range of between $3.10 and $3.30 per gallon at the end of the year.

As per the estimates put forth by the US Energy Department, the national average gas price will probably be $3.64 per gallon during 2012; thereby implying that the figures will be higher than the 2011 record average of $3.53 per gallon.

Nonetheless, despite the fact that the gas prices remained fairly high for a large part of the year, Oil Price Information Service's Tom Kloza has estimated the US residents' 2012 spending on gas will possibly hit a new record amount --- increasing from last year's fuel expenditure of $471billion to approximately $483 billion this year.