Gasoline costs in the Monroe area are continuing to fall, reflecting the end of the summer driving season and fears of a global recession. The average price for a gallon of unleaded in Monroe County shrank to $2.73, down about 50 cents a gallon in little more than a week. Prices at area pumps late Monday ranged from $2.57 cents at a Pilot Travel Center near Ottawa Lake to $2.89 at a BP station at Newport. Over the past week, fuel prices in Michigan have fallen 22.1 cents a gallon, according to AAA. The current statewide average is $2.85. If you pay the average price for a 20-gallon fill-up, you'll pay $5 less than you did a week ago. Nationally, gasoline has fallen more than a dime a gallon since Friday, hitting a national average of $2.92 on Monday, according to AAA and the Oil Price Information Service. Pump prices have fallen 29 percent from their July record high of $4.114 a gallon and are only 10 cents higher than a year ago. The pullback at the pump comes amid a dramatic turnaround in crude oil prices.

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