PORTLAND, Maine — The average price of a gallon of gas dropped 2.5 cents in the past week in Maine as prices are projected to continue dropping through the fall and winter.
The statewide average for a gallon of regular gasoline hit $2.34 on Sunday, according to the price tracking site GasBuddy.com. The 2.5-cent drop came as the national average fell 6.7 cents, to $2.33.
The state price was about $1.15 per gallon less than one year ago and the national price was $1.06 less.
That decline has been driven through the summer by sustained output from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and from U.S. shale drilling that has increased domestic petroleum production.
Patrick DeHaan, a senior petroleum analyst at GasBuddy, said in a news release that refineries are set to switch to producing a less expensive winter blend on Thursday, which will contribute to declines in pump prices through the fall.
“In the week ahead, widespread gasoline price declines will continue, especially in light of the switch over to cheaper winter fuel in many areas,” DeHaan said.
The federal Energy Information Administration last week issued its short-term outlook for gasoline prices, forecasting the national average would dip to $2.03 per gallon in December and average a price of $2.11 through the last three months of the year.
The price drop comes alongside a forecast that U.S. production will continue to slow through the middle of 2016, following a decline in output in August from the previous month.
The lowest gas price in Maine on Monday morning was reported at $2.13. The highest was $2.89, according to GasBuddy.