Gas prices drop nearly a quarter in past week

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) Average retail gasoline prices in Fort Wayne have fallen 22.7 cents per gallon in the past week, averaging $3.38 a gallon on Sunday, October 21, 2012. This compares with the national average that has fallen 9.0 cents per gallon in the last week to $3.67 a gallon according to gasoline price website FtWayneGasPrices.com.

Including the change in gas prices in Fort Wayne during the past week, prices Sunday were 4.2 cents per gallon higher than the same day one year ago and are 37.4 cents per gallon lower than a month ago. The national average has decreased 14.2 cents per gallon during the last month and stands 20.1 cents per gallon higher than this day one year ago.

"Only one other time in the last few years have we seen the national average drop so significantly in the course of just a week, and that other time was in May 2011," said GasBuddy.com Senior Petroleum Analyst Patrick DeHaan. "Looking back at our data, we only see that prices dropped considerably more in autumn 2008 when the economy slipped into a recession. Given the circumstances with this latest weekly decrease- that it has nothing to do with recession- is significant," DeHaan said.