Labor Day Gas Cheapest Since Spring — but Gustav Looms

NEW YORK - Americans hitting the road this Labor Day weekend found the cheapest gasoline since April, with the national average down more than 40 cents from July's record — a relief that could prove brief if Gustav cripples Gulf Coast refineries.

The AAA motor club put the average price of regular unleaded at $3.68 a gallon Sunday, down from the record $4.11 set in mid-July but still nearly a dollar higher than a year ago.

Prices have been falling for six weeks as crude oil retreated from its July peak of $147 a barrel and Americans cut back on driving for the first time in a generation. The government says motorists drove 12 billion fewer miles in June than a year earlier.

"People changed their behavior this summer in a way we've never seen," said a spokesman for the Oil Price Information Service. "Carpooling, combining trips, trading in the SUV. Whether it sticks at $3.50 gas is the great question."

Gustav threatened to reverse the slide. With refineries along the Louisiana coast shut down, wholesale gasoline prices jumped last week, and analysts said pump prices could rise 10 to 20 cents in the storm's wake — or far more if damage is severe.

The slump has been a rare bright spot for consumers squeezed by falling home values, rising food prices and a job market that has shed positions every month this year.

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Associated Press writers contributed to this report.

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