Gas prices drop 14 cents in two weeks: survey

(Reuters) - The average price for a gallon of regular gasoline in the country fell 14.6 cents to $3.478 in the last two weeks, due to sliding crude oil prices on fears about the European economy, the Lundberg Survey showed.

Gasoline prices have fallen rapidly, dropping 48.9 cents from a high of $3.967 on April 6, survey editor Trilby Lundberg said on Sunday.

"It's an extraordinary decline less than three months," Lundberg said. "American motorists are benefiting from a lot of economic pain in Europe."

Economic pessimism, coupled with healthy supplies, have depressed prices of crude oil, benefiting U.S. motorists at the pump, she said.

The price was the lowest since the January 20 survey, which recorded an average of $3.39 per gallon.

The national average for regular gasoline as of June 22 was also down 15 cents from the year-earlier level of $3.628 a gallon, according to the survey of some 2,500 gasoline stations in the continental United States.

The average price of a gallon of diesel has fallen by nearly the same amount, down nearly 14 cents over two weeks to $3.778. Diesel fuel is also off nearly 44 cents from a peak of $4.215 on April 6, Lundberg said.

The average cost for a gallon of gasoline at self-serve stations was the lowest in Jackson, Mississippi, at $3.03. San Francisco drivers paid the most per gallon at $3.95.

(Reporting By Hilary Russ; Editing by Maureen Bavdek)