In a break from past years, local gasoline prices keep falling even as the Labor Day weekend approaches.
The average price of gas in the Sacramento area Tuesday was $3.63 a gallon, according to SactoGasPrices.com, a GasBuddy.com website. That's more than 2 cents below last week.
It's the third straight week of price declines. During that time, the average price of gas locally has fallen about a dime a gallon.
In another break from past history, the area price of gas is only 5 cents higher than the national average of $3.58 a gallon. Typically, California gas is 15 cents to 30 cents higher.
The current local average is still 59 cents per gallon higher than it was one year ago but about 12 cents lower than last month.
Energy analysts said California has benefited from stable regional gas supplies and relatively low crude oil prices. Benchmark crude rose $1.02 to settle at $85.44 per a barrel Tuesday on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
