The good news for consumers is that the price of crude oil declined by $3 per barrel this past week, closing at $77 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX).

The bad news is that wholesale prices increased by an average of 32 cents per gallon in October and retail prices during this period increased by only two-thirds of that. So, for retail prices to totally reflect the cost of the product, they would increase by another 10 cents, assuming that wholesale prices don’t continue to rise, or drop sharply, according to Retail Fuel Watch.

The national average price of unleaded regular gasoline is now $2.69 per gallon, in Florida, Georgia and Tennessee, average prices today are $2.77, $2.56 and $2.54 respectively.

Current and past price averages:

National: Current $2.693 – Week ago $2.665 – Month ago $2.465 – Year ago $2.463

Florida: Current $2.729 – Week ago $2.701 – Month ago $2.405 – Year ago $2.481

Source: AAA Auto Club South