Gas down almost 6 cents, nearing $3

Oil and gas prices slide

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NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Gasoline prices fell nearly 6 cents a gallon, coming within 30 cents of $3, according to a daily survey of credit card swipes.

The decline comes as oil prices get roiled by anxiety over weakening demand and as the end of the economic crisis appears to be quite a ways off.

The average price of unleaded regular fell to $3.291 a gallon nationwide, down 5.9 cents from $3.350, according to the Daily Fuel Gauge Report issued by motorist group AAA.

The price has now tumbled more than 82 cents, or more than 20%, below the record $4.114 set July 17. It's down nearly 38 cents from a month ago, but remains some 53 cents, or 19%, higher from a year ago.

The average price fell below $3 a gallon in Kansas, where a gallon sells for $2.907, on average. Gasoline is highest in Alaska, at $4.097 a gallon, with Hawaii - at $4.051 - the only other state above $4 a gallon.

Gasoline prices had surged during the highly traveled summer season and as a series of hurricanes battered oil refineries in the Gulf of Mexico. But with hurricane season nearly over, prices began their slide.

Oil prices also have been moving sharply lower amid fears that the economic crisis, which has deepened globally, will have a severely adverse effect on demand.

Crude plunged to a 13-month low on Friday, shedding as much as $9 a barrel at one point. Prices for the November contract ended down $8.89 to $77.49 a barrel. That's a far cry from the $147.27 a barrel seen in July.

The survey is conducted for AAA by Oil Price Information Service from credit card swipes at more than 85,000 service stations nationwide.