High gas prices are posted at a full service gas station in Beverly Hills, Calif., Sunday, Nov. 7, 2021. The average U.S. price of regular-grade gasoline jumped by 5 cents over the past two weeks, to $3.49 per gallon. The price at the pump is $1.30 higher than a year ago. Industry analyst Trilby Lundberg of the Lundberg Survey said Sunday the rise comes as the cost of crude oil and ethanol surges. Nationwide, the highest average price for regular-grade gas is in the San Francisco Bay Area, at $4.77 per gallon. The lowest average is in Houston, at $2.98 per gallon. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Gas prices fell in northern New England over the past week after weeks of speculation that a price drop was coming.

Prices in Maine fell 2.9 cents per gallon over the past week, according to GasBuddy, which surveys stations. The price in the state was down to $3.43 per gallon, the organization said Monday.

Prices in New Hampshire went down 3 cents, to $3.32. In Vermont, prices fell 4.2 cents to land at $3.39. Prices fell even more in the Burlington area, where they dropped 10.6 cents to $3.37.

The national average was $3.34 per gallon. That was a decrease of 5.3 cents.

Anxiety over the omicron variant of COVID-19 and reductions in fuel consumption drove the price drop, said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis for GasBuddy.