RIVERSIDE – The average price of a gallon of self-serve regular gasoline in the Inland Empire fell a record 12.2 cents this week, the Automobile Club of Southern California reported Friday.

The average of $4.259 in Riverside and San Bernardino counties is 33 cents lower than last month and 35.5 cents lower than the record high of $4.614 set June 22.

“We've experienced several weeks in Southern California where gas prices shot up by two cents a day, but this is the only time we know of when they've plunged by about two cents daily for a week in a row,” said Auto Club spokesman Jeffrey Spring.

“Lower demand and consumers shopping around for the best gas prices have helped play a role. But even with these sharp decreases, drivers are still paying over a dollar per gallon more than at this time last year."

The average price is $1.25 more than last year.

The average price has fallen for six consecutive weeks, but continued lower prices are threatened by volatility in the price for oil, the leading factor in gasoline prices.

The price of a barrel of oil on the New York Mercantile Exchange hit a record high of $147.27 July 11, eventually falling to $123.36 last Friday. It began rising Monday after militants sabotaged two oil pipelines in Nigeria and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad claimed his country had doubled the size of its nuclear program.

The price of a barrel of light sweet crude rose to $126.77 Wednesday but fell $2.69 Thursday, closing at $124.08.