With gas prices steadily declining within the last three weeks, Douglas motorists are enjoying the lowest prices in Cochise County.

Gas prices have decline about 25 cents within the last three weeks in Douglas, making gas the cheapest in the county.

At $3.46 a gallon, motorists here have gotten some relief at the gas pump, said Robert Carreira, the director for Economic Research at Cochise College.

Carreira conducts a bimonthly survey on gas prices throughout the county.

Express Stop on 10th Street and A Avenue has had steadily declining prices during the past three weeks, stabilizing at $3.46, and making it one of the cheapest filling stations in town.

Jeff Trendler, the general manager for Express Stop, did not return calls to The Douglas Dispatch.

Statewide, drivers are currently paying an average of $3.688 for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline, a drop of just over eight cents from last week, said the American Automotive Association.

Nationwide, the current average is $3.702 per gallon, a drop of over seven cents from last week. __Nationwide and statewide fuel averages have fallen by 35 and 32 cents respectively from last month as a result of the declining price of crude oil.

However, the commodity has recently traded upward to the $120 per barrel range on news of the falling dollar and a drop in gasoline stockpiles for the second straight week, AAA said.

__"According to the Department of Energy, this week we experienced an increase in crude supplies and a drop in fuel inventories," said AAA Arizona Public Affairs Manager Linda Gorman. "What this tells us is that refiners are responding to lackluster demand by producing less fuel.

“If this trend continues, we could see fuel prices start to level off or possibly increase. However, should crude oil retreat from the movement it has made today, it is likely that we could see a drop of another nickel at the pump leading up to the Labor Day holiday."