Getting Easier to Find $4-a-Gallon Gas

The average price of gasoline in San Diego County dropped below $4 a gallon for the first time since March 25 Saturday, dropping 1 cent to $3.995.

It was the 28^th consecutive day the price went down, which is 4.6 cents below what it was a week ago and 26.6 cents less than a month ago, according to figures from the AAA and Oil Price Information Service.

However, the price is 98.6 cents higher than a year ago.

The average price has fallen 28.4 cents during the streak that began May 7, including seven-tenths of a cent on Thursday. It had risen eight consecutive days before the streak of decreases began.

Analysts credit the decreases to the declining cost of crude oil. The price of a barrel of benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude on the New York Mercantile Exchange has fallen 12 percent to $100.22 since reaching a two-year high of $113.93 on April 29.

Crude oil costs account for two-thirds to three-quarters of the price of a gallon of gasoline, according to Tupper Hull of the Western States Petroleum Association, a trade association representing oil companies in six western states.

City News Service contributed to this report.