GasBuddy today projected that average gasoline prices in the Continental United States over the Memorial Day weekend will average 30-cents per gallon higher than last year, but will be the second cheapest on record since 2006.

The average price across the United States will be $2.75 per gallon, with the lowest prices in South Carolina, New Jersey, and Oklahoma, where prices will drop as low as $2.35 per gallon.

Some of the highest prices in the United States will be in the West (including Alaska and Hawaii), where prices will remain over $3 per gallon.

This year, prices in the United States will have fallen an average of 15-cents

during May, marking the first year since 2006 that prices fell during this time

frame. Motorists can thank abundant supply of oil and gasoline products as well

as plenty of spare capacity for the recent downturn. While most will see lower

prices, some areas of the West are seeing prices that have barely dropped or

even increased during the month.

GasBuddy forecasts much of the U.S. will see falling prices after the holiday,

continuing a downward trend.

In Florida, prices have fallen 16.4 cents per gallon from $2.90/g earlier this month to $2.73/g Wednesday, May 26. Prices Wednesday were 32.6 cents per gallon higher than a year ago.

“Falling gasoline prices couldn’t have come at a better time for motorists as

they prepare to embark on their weekend plans,” said Patrick DeHaan, senior

petroleum analyst of GasBuddy.com. DeHaan said prices are poised to fall even

after Memorial Day, the start to the summer driving season, is over.

“Oil prices have lost over 15 pecent of their value in just a few weeks so we’ll continue to see retail prices fall,” he said.

Historical Memorial Day pricing and trends leading to the holiday:

Wednesday before Memorial Day, 2010: $2.73/g, with prices falling 13.3 cents per gallon between May 1 and yesterday.

Memorial Day, 2009: $2.40/g, with prices rising 34.4 cents per gallon between

May 1 and Memorial Day weekend.

Memorial Day, 2008: $3.91/g, with prices rising 28.8 cents per gallon between

Memorial Day, 2007: $3.09/g, with prices rising 14.3 cents per gallon between

Motorists can visit FloridaStateGasPrices.com and plan their holiday weekend

trips using the GasBuddy Trip Cost Calculator, a tool that uses GasBuddy’s

powerful price search engine to cost efficiently route each trip based on users

entering information such as their destination and vehicle type.

About FloridaStateGasPrices.com

GasBuddy.com operates over 200 live gasoline price-tracking websites, including

FloridaStateGasPrices.com. GasBuddy.com was named one of Time magazine’s 50 best websites and to PC World’s 100 most useful websites of 2008.