Gasoline prices still dropping in Modesto

MODESTO -- Gasoline prices have continued to fall since hitting a high of nearly $4.40 per gallon six weeks ago.

As of this morning, regular unleaded gas can be had for $3.27 at Arco stations in Turlock, with prices a few pennies higher in Ceres, Ripon and Modesto, according to modestogasprices.com.

Nationally, the average price of gas is $3.42 per gallon, according to GasBuddy.com. That's down significantly from the high of a few weeks ago, but still above the year-ago average of $3.32 per gallon.

Patrick DeHaan, GasBuddy’s senior petroleum analyst, told The Sacramento Bee he does not expect much price movement nationwide throughout the holiday season.

“Thanksgiving Day 2012 featured the highest ever daily average for the holiday, beating out 2011 by over 10 cents per gallon,” he said. “The national average may continue to moderate slightly by Christmas ... but overall, there will likely not be much change between today and Christmas.”