Charlotte-area gas prices fall 4 cents over the week

Mirroring a national trend, gas prices in the Charlotte region continue to drop, thanks to an oversupply of oil.

As of early Tuesday, the average price of a gallon of unleaded gas had fallen 4 cents in the Charlotte area over the week. In North Carolina, prices fell 5 cents and the U.S. average fell 6 cents.

Inventories of domestic crude oil have reached their highest level for this time of the year in nearly 80 years, auto group AAA said in a report this week. But gas demand starts to increase in February and peaks in August, so prices at the pump could climb.

For now, though, 44 states are paying less than $2 a gallon for gas. Oklahoma has the cheapest gas in the U.S. at $1.41 a gallon.

Below are the local and national gas prices according to AAA, which surveys 120,000 gas stations nationwide to determine averages.

This story was originally published February 9, 2016 at 8:19 AM with the headline "Charlotte-area gas prices fall 4 cents over the week."