Area gas prices fall about 6 cents in past week

Average retail gasoline prices in Naples have fallen 5.9 cents per gallon in the past week, averaging $3.42 per gallon Sunday, according to GasBuddy's daily survey of 94 gas outlets in Naples.

Naples area gas prices Sunday were 1 cent per gallon lower than the same day one year ago and are 16 cents per gallon lower than a month ago.

This compares with the national average that has fallen 8 cents per gallon in the last week to $3.25 per gallon, according to gasoline price website GasBuddy.com. The national average has decreased 18.3 cents per gallon during the last month and stands 1.3 cents per gallon higher than this day one year ago.

"The drop in gas prices certainly has been well noted. In some instances people have been calling this a gas price crash. Dub it whatever you like, but I'll remind motorists gasoline prices in some areas still could set all-time record highs for Christmas Day," said GasBuddy.com Senior Petroleum Analyst Patrick DeHaan. "While it is excellent that gasoline prices have dropped, I'm not on board with this being called a gas price crash. Call me a grinch, call me a realist, but at the end of the day, data doesn't lie, and that data shows that gasoline prices are still clinging near all-time highs for today's date."