Motorists are finally seeing lower prices at the pumps in New Jersey.

AAA Mid-Atlantic says the average price of regular gasoline on Friday was $3.84, down 5 cents from last week. But that’s still much higher than the cost a year ago, when New Jersey motorists were paying $2.76.

Meanwhile, the national average price dropped by 9 cents to $3.89. That’s also higher than the national average from a year ago, which was $2.84.

Analysts remain hopeful that prices at the pump will continue to fall in the coming weeks.

But they say that will mostly depend on whether the crude oil market remains volatile, citing recent weak U.S. economic data and the European debt crisis  as potential reasons to be concerned.

(Source: NJ Star Ledger)