The national average price for a gallon of regular gasoline dropped by nearly four cents per gallon last week to $2.50, according to industry analysts at GasBuddy. The drop continues a trend of falling pump prices. At the beginning of January, gas cost $2.57 a gallon.

Crude oil traded around $52.75 a barrel early Monday morning, down about 2.6% from Friday’s closing price of $54.19. Over the past month, the price of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude for immediate delivery has plunged by nearly $9 a barrel (more than 14%). The national average price of gasoline is at its lowest level since March 10 of last year.

GasBuddy’s head of petroleum analysis, Patrick DeHaan, commented:

Worry has gripped oil markets, sending the commodity plunging in value in recent weeks, with motorists continuing to be the beneficiaries as downdrafts in gas prices accelerate. With oil prices now nearly $6 per barrel lower than a week ago and nearing their lowest level since October, there’s plenty more room for the decline in gas prices to be extended again.

DeHaan added:

While the national average could fall into the $2.30’s before all is said and done, the downward move likely won’t last much more than a few more weeks. For now, my advice to motorists is don’t be in a rush to fill–nearly every station nationwide will be cutting their prices in the days ahead–but shop around if you do need to fill up and patronize the stations with the lowest prices.

The week’s median price for a gallon of regular gas was $2.39, down six cents week over week. The average price at the 10% of gas stations charging the most for gas was $3.48, down a penny a gallon, while the average at the 10% charging the least fell by four cents to $2.06. The most common price across the country was $2.39 a gallon.

The five states where drivers are paying the most for gas are Hawaii ($3.88), California ($3.53), Nevada ($3.04), Washington ($2.99) and Alaska ($2.94). The only other state currently reporting a price of more than $2.75 a gallon is Oregon.

The five states where gas is cheapest are Missouri ($2.15), Mississippi ($2.20), Texas ($2.20), Louisiana ($2.20) and Oklahoma ($2.22).

Compared to last month, the national average is down seven cents per gallon, and compared to last year, prices are up about 25 cents.

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