Gas dips below $2 in Philadelphia

Gas prices have dropped below $2 in Philadelphia.

Motorists have been able to find fuel for less than $2 a gallon in South Jersey for weeks, but a few stations in the city its Pennsylvania suburbs are now pricing gas below that mark.

Gas for $1.97 could be found Monday at the Shell station at 8601 New Falls Road in Levittown, according to the fuel-tracking website GasBuddy.com.

And fuel was selling for $1.99 per gallon at the Lukoil at 4400 City Avenue in Philadelphia and the Costco at 700 Evergreen Drive in Glen Mills, according to GasBuddy.

A Citgo in Northeast Philadelphia was reported to be selling $1.99 gas Monday morning, but the reported price there had increased by early afternoon.

The average price of fuel in Philadelphia and its Pennsylvania suburbs stands at $2.23, according to AAA.

That's down from $2.27 last week and $2.55 last month.

Regional gas prices in New Jersey on Monday averaged $1.85 a gallon, down from $1.86 a week ago and $2.24 a month ago, the auto club says.

The falling trend is linked to plummeting crude oil prices, which have been falling steadily since the summer.

Despite Philadelphia's first reports of gas below $2, the downward trend may be on the cusp of ending.

Nationwide, prices average $2.06 per gallon, up two cents from a week ago, but down from the $2.23 average a month ago, according to AAA.

Small upticks in gas prices have been reported in recent days in places from Los Angeles to Chattanooga, Tenn., to Toledo, Ohio.

AAA last week reported its first daily rise in the national gas average last week, after 123 days of consecutive drops.

"Gas prices have begun to increase due to a series of refinery issues in the Midwest and because crude oil prices are trading at more stable levels following a multi-month selloff," the auto club wrote in its most recent fuel gauge report.

Fuel prices typically rise in the spring. Declines are common in the winter, though this season's sharp fall was unusual.

Drivers in 27 states, including Pennsylvania and New Jersey, and Washington, D.C., saw their statewide average decline last week, while fuel prices in the other 23 states increased over the past week.

Still, AAA says "global oil prices are expected to remain relatively low during the first half of 2015, largely due to OPEC's paradigm-shifting decision not to support higher oil prices by cutting production."

The group said it expects the national average to remain below $3 a gallon throughout 2015.