Gas in Baltimore area falls below $3 a gallon

What many Baltimore-area drivers have been experiencing this week is now official: The average price of gasoline is under $3.

AAA Mid-Atlantic reported yesterday that the average price of regular gas in the Baltimore region dropped to $2.97 from $3.02 Thursday. The statewide average, propped up by higher prices in the Washington suburbs, remains barely above the three-buck line at $3.01. If current trends continue, that average would slip below $3 this weekend.

As of last night, some of lowest gas prices in the Baltimore area were spotted in Essex, Reisterstown and Glen Burnie, where regular fuel sold for $2.79 a gallon at a Liberty station, according to marylandgasprices.com.

The average price of gasoline in Baltimore reached a peak of $4.03 on June 19. But falling crude oil prices have brought a steep decline in the price at the pump over the past few months.

Prices fell 23 cents the week of Oct. 5, according to AAA Mid-Atlantic, and prices fell four cents more Sunday and Monday, when the state average stood at $3.20.

The region's prices remain above their levels of a year ago, when they stood at $2.66.