Gasoline price hits five-year low

The average price of gasoline hit its lowest point in nearly five years Friday, following similar drops in crude oil prices.

The national average price was $2.60 a gallon Friday, the lowest since Dec. 27, 2009, auto group AAA said.

{mosads}“There is no end in sight to lower gas prices as crude oil continues to fall sharply,” AAA spokesman Michael Green said in a statement.

The group had predicted that the price of gas would hit $2.50 a gallon by Christmas, but Green said that is now likely even sooner.

Per-gallon prices have dropped an average of 1.4 cents per day in the last two weeks, AAA said. In the two weeks before that, it fell only 0.9 cent a day.

The gasoline prices have followed similar five-year lows in oil prices. Domestic crude oil hit $59.98 a barrel Thursday for the first time since 2009.

Analysts and traders cannot see an end in sight for the oil price drops, and AAA similarly can’t see the end of gas price decreases.

As of Friday, New York was the only state with an average gas price above $3, at $3.02.