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Newswire

U.S. gasoline prices lowest since mid-February

By Christopher Doering

WASHINGTON, April 21 (Reuters) - U.S. retail gasoline prices fell to their lowest level since mid-February as further progress by U.S. and British forces in Iraq helped ease pricing concerns on the retail level, the government said on Monday.

The latest U.S. pump price, based on a weekly survey of more than 800 service stations by the department's Energy Information Administration, fell to an average of $1.574 per gallon, a slight drop of 2.1 cents from a week ago.

This week's average cost per gallon marked the fifth straight weekly decline, and was the lowest since $1.527 on Feb. 13, but prices still are up 17 cents from a year ago.

Crude oil prices, which hit a high of nearly $40 a barrel last month, have fallen significantly following the U.S. invasion of Iraq and an increase in Venezuelan oil production following a two-month workers' strike in that country.

A drop in crude costs, which accounts for about 45 percent of the price of gasoline, is passed on to consumers when they fill their tanks.

The NYMEX crude contract for May delivery, which expires on Tuesday, settled 32 cents or 1 percent higher at $30.87 a barrel amid concern that OPEC could announce it will trim output at an emergency meeting on Thursday.

Last week's gasoline price drop was led by the Gulf Coast, which continued to remain the least costly place to fuel up at $1.46, down 2.8 cents. Motorists in the Midwest paid 0.8 cents more to fill their automobiles as the cost per gallon rose to $1.48, the only increase among the major regions surveyed by the EIA.

Drivers on the West Coast paid the most to fill their tanks even though prices fell 5.5 cents to $1.912. Among the major cities highlighted by the EIA, Houston pump prices were far and away the cheapest at $1.452, down 2.3 cents. In Denver, gasoline fell 4.8 cents to $1.499 while in Chicago they increased 3.3 cents to $1.559.

San Francisco remained the most expensive place to fuel up even as prices fell 4.2 cents to $2.062.

Prices in the six cities have risen by between 6.4 cents in Chicago to 41.2 cents in Los Angeles from a year ago.

The national price for cleaner-burning reformulated gasoline, which is sold at about one-third of the gas stations in cities and smoggier areas, fell 2.9 cents to $1.718.

U.S. diesel prices fell 1 cent to $1.529. The average cost for a gallon of diesel has risen 22.5 cents during the last 12 months, according to the data.

The West Coast had the highest diesel price with the average gallon falling 1.9 cents to $1.606. Truckers in the Gulf Coast region paid the least for diesel at $1.434, down 2.1 cents.