<meta itemprop="width" content="1170"> <meta itemprop="height" content="1170"> Cars.com photo by Evan Sears 
 
 CARS.COM — American motorists are benefiting from shrinking oil prices as the cost of gasoline and diesel fuel continues to edge downward in all but a handful of areas in the country. The AAA Daily Fuel Gauge Report said on Thursday that the national average for regular gas was down 6 cents from a week ago to $1.94, while diesel and premium gas each were down 5 cents to $2.18 and $2.45, respectively. 
 
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 Oil prices briefly slipped below $30 a barrel in early-morning trading, the lowest in more than a decade and a continuing sign that the global supply of crude is greater than demand. AAA said oil prices could remain depressed, noting that despite growing tensions among neighbors in the Middle East, oil production there has continued at high levels, helping to maintain the global oil glut. 
 
 Average prices for regular gas were less than $2 in 36 states, according to AAA, with Missouri posting the lowest average at $1.66. Oklahoma was close behind at $1.67, followed by Arkansas and South Carolina at $1.70. California had the most expensive gas with an average price of $2.82 for regular. Prices were highest in Southern California, and GasBuddy.com listed stations in the Los Angeles and San Diego areas as selling regular for more $3 a gallon and a handful of Los Angeles stations at more than $4. 
 
 For months California motorists have experienced price spikes brought on by unscheduled refinery outages and supply issues that were exacerbated by the state's strict emissions rules requiring specific gasoline blends. Prices have declined in California the past two weeks, but the average for regular is still 25 cents higher than a year ago. Gas in neighboring Nevada is 15 cents higher than a year ago at $2.46. 
 
 In contrast, Hawaiians are paying 73 cents less than at this time in 2015, with the statewide average at $2.67. California and Hawaii were the only two states that averaged more than $2.50 as of Thursday morning. Alaska, New York, Vermont and the District of Columbia also are among the big losers, and motorists are saving more than 40 cents a gallon compared with a year ago. 
 
 At this time last year gas prices were nearing the end of a record 123 straight daily declines before regular bottomed out at the end of January at $2.03 per gallon. 
 
 At $1.94 for a national average, regular is 16 cents lower than a year ago, while at $2.18 diesel is 79 cents cheaper. Gas prices usually fall during the winter due to lower demand, and diesel prices rise because some of the heavier oil used for diesel is diverted to make home-heating oil. Mild winter weather and the glut of oil have put that pattern on hold, and diesel prices have continued to decline along with gas. ||||| Gas prices in at least nine states have fallen to their lowest levels in a dozen years, with some even approaching $1 a gallon in the Midwest. 
 
 Gas prices in Texas, Missouri, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Oklahoma, Kansas, and North Dakota have reached their lowest average point since 2004, according to Gasbuddy.com . Oklahoma has the cheapest average cost of the bunch, at $1.37 for a gallon of regular, while North Dakota has the "highest" price point of the nine states, with an average that's still dirt cheap, all things considered: $1.63. 
 
 Even better, there are also at least eight states where some stations are peddling fuel for less than $1.25 a gallon, CNN Money reported . With gas priced at $1.11 a gallon at one 7-Eleven location, Oklahoma City currently hosts the cheapest gas in the country. (More than a dozen other stations in that city sell fuel for $1.14 or less.) 
 
 "Incredible as it sounds, we wouldn’t be shocked to see a few stations in these states as low as 99 cents a gallon," said Patrick DeHaan, senior petroleum analyst at Gasbuddy.com. 
 
 An oversupply of gas—due to factors such as increased U.S. production and a halting of sanctions on Iran—is saturating the market and bringing down prices at the pump. The average price of a gallon of regular gas in the U.S. is now $1.74, the cheapest since January 2009. Roughly one out of four gas stations in the country is now selling fuel for $1.50 or less per gallon. According to AAA , the national average for a gallon of regular is currently 44 cents cheaper than it was one year ago at this time. 
 
 But don't expect the bargain fuel prices to last forever, even if oil prices continue to plummet. Since oil refineries aren't profiting off this market, some may take the unfavorable conditions as a chance to shut down and conduct maintenance, Tom Kloza, chief analyst for the Oil Price Information Service, told CNN Money. The decreased supply of gas is expected to drive prices up again. ||||| DALLAS (AP) — Gasoline is close to breaking below a key psychological barrier as drivers enjoy some of the cheapest pump prices since the recession. 
 
 FILE - In this May 8, 2015 file photo, gas station attendant Carlos Macar pumps gas in Andover, Mass. Gasoline is close to breaking below a key psychological barrier as drivers enjoy some of the cheapest... (Associated Press) 
 
 The nationwide average price of a gallon of regular Saturday was $2.02, down 58 cents from this time last year, according to auto club AAA. Experts say it could drop below $2 a gallon in the coming days. 
 
 For consumers, this winter is shaping up to be a good one, energy-wise. Forecasters predict warmer weather than normal, and fuel prices are low. 
 
 The retail price of heating oil for December through February is expected to average $2.40 a gallon, down 18 percent compared with last year, according to the Energy Department. The price of natural gas for residential customers is expected to average $8.72 per 1,000 cubic feet, down 9 percent. 
 
 On the roads, many drivers across the country are already seeing gasoline prices well below $2 a gallon. According to data compiled by AAA and the Oil Price Information Service, drivers in about half of the states are already paying less than $2. South Carolina has the lowest average price at $1.79 a gallon. At the high end, Californians are paying $2.65 and Hawaiians are shelling out $2.76. 
 
 The relative bargains at the pump might last a while, because global crude oil supplies are high and demand appears to be weakening. Crude prices fell Friday after the International Energy Agency predicted that demand will grow more slowly next year. The organization expects 2016 growth to be only two-thirds the size of 2015's increase. 
 
 Rising production, mostly from OPEC, is also pressuring oil prices. Iran, Iraq and other members of the oil cartel are trying to boost output as they dig out from economic sanctions and wars. 
 
 Crude oil futures fell $1.14 to close at $35.62 a barrel Friday on the New York Mercantile Exchange. 
 
 Tom Kloza, head of energy analysis for the Oil Price Information Service, said gasoline could go as low as $1.79 a gallon by winter, before rising again next year. 
 
 "I do think it will be much higher in the spring," he said, predicting they could rise to $2.75 a gallon. 
 
 Refiners often curtail production to perform maintenance on their plants during the slower late-winter and early-spring periods, and that is followed by the annual summer surge in driving. That yearly decrease in supplies and uptick in demand usually pushes prices up as the beginning of summer approaches. 
 
 While gas is at its cheapest price in more than six years, some suggest it should be even cheaper. 
 
 Jodie Gunzberg, the head of commodities research at S&P Dow Jones Indices, studied monthly prices for crude oil and gasoline going back to 1988. She found that the two generally went up or down about the same. But so far this year, she said, oil prices are down 29 percent while gasoline is down only 16 percent. 
 
 If gasoline prices had behaved exactly the same as oil prices this year, she estimates that consumers would be saving another 6 percent at the pump — about 12 cents on every gallon. 
 
 Consumers might not complain too loudly, however. Filling up a 20 gallon tank will cost an average of $40.40 this weekend compared with $52 a year ago. And the Energy Department said this week that the average household can expect to spend $570 less for heating oil this winter, while a natural gas user should save 13 percent.
– You're not imagining things: Gas prices could soon fall as low as $1 per gallon at some US gas stations, USA Today reports. Some Midwest states—Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois, Minnesota, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Indiana, Ohio, and Kansas—are already seeing the lowest prices in 12 years. And one in four US gas stations is currently selling gas for $1.50 per gallon or less, according to Time. “Incredible as it sounds, we wouldn’t be shocked to see a few stations in these states as low as 99 cents a gallon,” says one expert. As of Tuesday afternoon, the nationwide average was $1.72 per gallon. That's approximately 7 cents less than last week, 26 cents less than last month, and 46 cents less than last year. It's the lowest average price the US has seen in six years. The low prices—caused by a combination of falling demand and increasing production in the US and Middle East—are good news for consumers but bad news for oil companies. Oil prices hit 13-year lows last month, and the stocks of companies like BP and Exxon Mobil were down Tuesday. But not everyone is enjoying the savings. CNN reports the average price of gas in California is around $2.50 per gallon. That's due to both a larger-than-average gas tax and cleaner-than-average gasoline. California's requirement for gasoline that creates fewer emissions keeps prices higher but has made a huge impact on the state's air quality. One expert warns the rest of the country better enjoy low gas prices while it can. Refineries not turning a profit at these prices may close down for maintenance, sending gas supplies down and prices up.