Gasoline prices fell for the fourth consecutive week this week, dropping more steeply than at any time since the decline began in Southern California which has the highest prices in the United States.

However, prices remain far above 3 U.S. dollars per gallon, the Automobile Club of Southern California said Friday.

The average price of a gallon of self-serve regular unleaded in the Los Angeles-Long Beach area fell 5.1 cents this week to 3.333 dollars, 15 cents less than last month and 1 cent less than at this time last year, according to the latest area survey by the Auto Club.

The price fell 3.9 cents from both May 25-June 1 and May 18-25 and two cents from May 11-18 after rising for 14 consecutive weeks.

"Prices have come down by nearly a penny a day over the past week," Auto Club spokeswoman Carol Thorp said. "It would take another month of similar declines to get prices below 3 dollars a gallon."

Source: Xinhua