Retail Gasoline Prices At Lowest In Five Years, AAA Says

It's been nearly five years since U.S. residents spent so little at the gas pump, travel and leisure group AAA said Friday. Retail gasoline prices averaged $2.60 a gallon on Friday, the lowest since Dec. 27, 2009. "Gas prices will continue to be in freefall as long as crude oil is searching for a bottom," said Michael Green, a AAA spokesman. AAA said U.S. consumers are saving about $375 million on gasoline per day compared with the high prices in the spring and summer. This works to about $100 per month on average per U.S. household, AAA said. Prices could average $2.50 by the end of the year, the company said. The states with the lowest averages include Missouri (average of $2.32 a gallon), Oklahoma ($2.36), Texas ($2.38), Mississippi ($2.39), and South Carolina ($2.40).