By Tom Doggett
WASHINGTON, Oct 28 (Reuters) - U.S. retail gasoline prices fell for the first time in five weeks, declining 1.4 cents over the last week to $1.444 a gallon, the Energy Department said on Monday.
Gasoline costs are up 21 cents a gallon from a year ago, based on a weekly survey of more than 800 service stations by the department's Energy Information Administration.
The national price for cleaner-burning reformulated gasoline, which is sold at about one-third of the gas stations in cities and smoggier areas, was down 0.9 cents to $1.48 a gallon, EIA said.
The decline in gasoline prices coincided with a drop in crude oil costs, which on Tuesday traded at an 11-week low.
The price of crude oil, which in recent weeks had been holding steady at around $30 a barrel but has now fallen to around $27, accounts for about 40 percent of the cost of a gallon of gasoline.
The West Coast had the most expensive regular unleaded gasoline, with the average weekly price in the region down half a penny to $1.47 a gallon, EIA said.
The lower Atlantic states had the cheapest fuel, as the average price was down 0.9 cents to $1.395 a gallon.
San Francisco kept its top spot among major cities in fuel costs, with the price up 0.2 cent to $1.589 a gallon.
Houston again had the best deal at the pump, with gasoline also up 0.2 cent to $1.383 a gallon.
The report also showed gasoline prices down 3.1 cents in Chicago at $1.563, down 0.1 cent in New York City at $1.498, down 0.1 cent in Denver at $1.479 and down 1.4 cents in Los Angeles at $1.462.
The biggest year-on-year change in city pump prices was in Chicago, where gasoline costs were up 31 cents a gallon.
Separately, the nationwide price for diesel fuel fell for the second week in a row, down 1.3 cents to $1.456 a gallon, but 15 cents higher from a year ago.
Truckers on the West Coast paid the most for diesel fuel at $1.524 a gallon, down 0.2 cents from the prior week. The lower Atlantic states had the cheapest diesel at $1.407 a gallon, down 2 cents.