Long anticipated drop in gas prices arrives

FORT WAYNE, Ind (WANE) - Motorists in Fort Wayne and across the country are finally seeing relief at the pump as retail prices more closely reflect the long-anticipated autumn decline that comes with 'winter blend' gasoline, flat demand and stronger supply levels. But nowhere in the country are the price decreases more pronounced than in the Great Lakes region.

"The biggest weekly decline occurred in Michigan where the average price at the pump fell by 27.3 cents per gallon," said Patrick DeHaan, senior petroleum analyst, GasBuddy.com . "As our data confirms, consumers in the Great Lakes region saw the greatest relief, by far," he added.

From Oct. 11 through Oct. 18 the most notable price decreases have occurred in the following states:

• Michigan, down $0.27/gal.
• Ohio, down $0.24/gal.
• Indiana, down $0.23/gal.
• Wisconsin, down $0.19/gal.
• Illinois, down $0.19/gal.
• Nebraska, down $0.16/gal.
• Missouri, down $0.16/gal.
• Minnesota, down $0.15/gal.
• Oklahoma, down $0.15/gal.

"With the national average now at $3.70, down 14 cents per gallon over the past month, obviously we're glad to finally see prices moving down," added GasBuddy's Gregg Laskoski, "but we remain concerned about geopolitical events and what Iran/Israel conflict might bring."