Gas prices have been falling, and it appears that will continue, according to Bevi Powell, a spokesman for AAA in Pittsburgh.

The national average for regular gasoline is $3. Last month, the average price was $3.34. The last time the national average was this low was December 2010.

She said this time of year normally has lower gas prices because the summer driving season is over and there is a switch to winter gas blends that are less expensive than summer gas blends. Powell also noted oil prices have been dropping and there have been no major hurricanes affecting oil refineries.

Despite falling prices, Pennsylvania has an average gas price that is above the national average.

The current average in the state is $3.12. In September, it was $3.23. In the Pittsburgh area, prices are averaging $3.24.

In Butler County, prices generally are a bit lower than the Pittsburgh average.

In Butler, some prices were $3.14 or $3.15 on Saturday. In the Zelienople and Harmony area, the average price is $3.17.

Some stations have a price of $3.09. One station in Muddy Creek Township has regular gas at $2.99.

Three stations along Route 19 in Cranberry and Jackson townships were at $3.19 this morning. Another in Cranberry was $3.15 and a station on Route 19 in Zelienople was at $3.09.

This morning in Penn Township, a station along Route 8 was $3.19.

The last time Butler averages were this low was February 2011.

In states surrounding Pennsylvania, prices generally are lower.

In Ohio, the current average is $2.92. This is down from $3.04 last month. In West Virginia, prices are $3.11, also down from last month’s average of $3.42.

In Maryland, the average price is $2.99, down from $3.32 last month.

New York had higher prices. The current average there is $3.40. This is down from last month’s average, which was $3.61.

Powell said competition between gas stations, different rents for stations and different traffic patterns are the primary causes for different gas prices.

Gas taxes also play into the pricing. Last year, the state passed a new transportation bill that included an increase in the gasoline tax, making the combined state and federal gas tax rate go from 51 cents per gallon to 60.2 cents per gallon. Federal gas taxes account for 18.4 cents of those amounts.

“That plays into it, as well, especially in cases of state differences,” Powell said about varying state gas taxes.

Patrick DeHaan, senior petroleum analyst with GasBuddy.com, said, “We have two different scenarios for gas prices from here on. If oil prices hold their current $80 level, gas prices nationally may see their decline wind down, only dropping another few cents.

“But if oil prices can drop to $78 or less, we could see the national average decline for several more weeks.”

GasBuddy operates PennsylvaniaGasPrices.com and more than 250 similar websites that track gasoline prices at more than 140,000 stations in the United States and Canada.