COLUMBUS, Ohio — Retail gasoline fell to a new three-year low Tuesday and in an unprecedented decline, crude oil costs $100 less per barrel than it did four months ago with a U.S. recession eating away at energy demand.

Analysts believe prices at the pump may finally be bottoming out after a precipitous decline from record highs this summer. Yet demand could fall even further in January with job losses reducing the number of people who drive to work.

Crude has fallen nearly 70 percent since July 11, when it hit $147.27.

Gas prices fell for the 20th week since the July 4th holiday and hit $1.811 per gallon, according to the government's Energy Information Agency.

Auto club AAA, the Oil Price Information Service and Wright Express said prices fell 0.8 cents overnight to $1.812, down 62.4 cents in the past month and $1.249 in the past year.

Gas could be found for a lot cheaper than that in many places. On the Web site GasBuddy.com, where motorists post gas prices, a BP station in Independence, Mo., outside Kansas City, was selling fuel for $1.29 per gallon.

Daily declines posted for the last two months have begun to narrow. The national average for a gallon of gas peaked at $4.11 in July.