Gas prices continue to fall

The average price of a gallon of self-serve regular gasoline in the Inland Empire fell today to its lowest amount since Jan. 11, dropping eight-tenths of a cent to $3.706, one day after falling a half-cent.
The average price in Riverside and San Bernardino counties has decreased for 43 consecutive days and 46 of the past 47. It is 9.3 cents less than one week ago, 50.6 cents lower than one month ago and 6.6 cents below what it was one year ago, according to figures from the AAA and Oil Price Information Service.
The falling pump prices are the result of lower crude oil prices stemming from lower demand caused by a slowdown in the global economy, according to Jeffrey Spring of the Automobile Club of Southern California.
Crude oil costs account for two-thirds to three-quarters of the price of a gallon of gasoline, said Tupper Hull of the Western States Petroleum Association, a trade association representing oil companies in six western states.