Good news for motorists ? average retail gasoline prices could fall to 2010 levels

Average retail gasoline prices in Iowa have fallen 5.7 cents per gallon in the past week, averaging $3.01 per gallon Oct. 19, according to GasBuddy?s daily survey of 2,036 gas outlets in Iowa. This compares with the national average that has fallen 6.1 cents per gallon in the last week to $3.12 per gallon, according to gasoline price website GasBuddy.com.

Including the change in gas prices in Iowa during the past week, prices yesterday were 25.8 cents per gallon lower than the same day one year ago and are 24.3 cents per gallon lower than a month ago. The national average has decreased 22.9 cents per gallon during the last month and stands 23.1 cents per gallon lower than this day one year ago.

?The national average again saw a hefty decline over the last week, and we now stand a mere dime away from seeing prices nationally average under $3 a gallon,? said GasBuddy.com senior petroleum analyst Patrick DeHaan. ?The national average stands now at its lowest point since January 18, 2011, and by the end of this week, it could stand at its lowest since late 2010. Every day, Americans are spending over $100 million less on their gasoline purchases than they did a year ago, some of which will be injected back into the economy in other forms, and with the economic concerns taking shape lately, it could help jolt things back in the right direction.

?I still do believe that the national average will break the $3/gallon mark by around Election Day ? the timing is ironic, considering the drop has nothing to do with Election Day and everything to do with current ongoings, such as a price war between some OPEC members and jitters about the health of the global economy,? DeHaan noted.