According to the latest statistics released by the Energy Information Administration (EIA), the average retail price of regular gasoline in the US witnessed an 11.9-cent drop per gallon in the week that ended this Monday.

With the 3.2 percent fall during the week, the national average retail price of gas touched a three-month low of $3.56 per gallon; which was the lowest average price of regular gasoline since July.

The steep plunge in the national average retail price was apparently a result of an almost 36-cent per gallon fall in the front-month reformulated gasoline blendstock futures on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The fall, for a record ten consecutive days, led to a four-month low in the reformulated gasoline blendstock futures, in the midst of concerns over weak demand.

Going by the EIA statistics, despite the fact that the retail prices are 3.4 percent - or 11.6 cents - more than the retail prices during the same time last year, they still are 13.3 percent below the July 7, 2008, record national average of $4.11 per gallon.

Meanwhile, predicting that the fall in gas prices will continue, even in spite of Hurricane Sandy, Tom Kloza - Oil Price Information Systems' chief analyst - said: "We have been on a steady road toward cheaper gas prices nationwide. The storm could mean a small wobble to the upside for a few days, but I suspect prices will resume their downward trend."