An analyst says the average price of regular-grade gasoline fell half a cent nationally over the past two weeks to $2.40 a gallon.

However, industry analyst Trilby Lundberg of the Lundberg Survey said Sunday that gas prices actually rose in several Western and Midwestern cities.

A sharp decline in the rest of the country kept prices down overall.

Lundberg says the average price is 9 cents higher than it was a year ago.

The highest average gas price, $3.10 a gallon, was in the San Francisco Bay Area. The lowest, $2.02 a gallon, was in Jackson, Mississippi.

Lundberg says crude oil prices rose during the previous two weeks, but retailers have been slow to pass those increases on to consumers.

(AP)