With Hurricane Michael and a national gas pipeline rupture in the rearview mirror, gas prices appear to be trending slowly downward.

On Monday, Oct. 15., the national average price of gas rang in at $2.89, two-cents less than last week, marking the third week of decreasing gas prices, AAA reported.

Nonetheless, pump prices are still four-cents greater than this time last month and 42-cents higher than this time last year. AAA reported that most states are seeing the dip in gas prices, excluding a handful of states impacted by fuel disruptions on the West Coast and in the Southeast.

“Gas prices may be signaling that they are taking a turn toward slowly decreasing, which is a welcomed change for motorists who have been paying unseasonably high pump prices to fill-up as of late,” said Jeanette Casselano, AAA spokesperson. “Two events last week caused small spikes in retail prices, but those spikes are short-lived.”

One such event was Hurricane Michael, which made landfall in Florida last week and caused retail fuel shortages along its path in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina. Also last week, a natural gas pipeline rupture in the Western Canadian province of British Columbia forced three Pacific Northwest (PNW) Puget Sound refineries to shut production units, according to AAA. Those refineries are beginning to resume normal operations.

Mississippi ($2.61) and South Carolina ($2.61) have the least expensive gas in the nation. Ohio (-14 cents) and Michigan (-12 cents) saw the largest price change week over week. Hawaii ($3.88) and California ($3.82) have the most expensive gas in the country.