Powhatan drivers, particularly the many who face long daily commutes, no doubt joined the nation in breathing a sigh of relief last week.

Gas prices, it seems, are finally coming down from the stratosphere. 

In many areas around Richmond, gas prices have now dropped to levels that haven’t been seen in almost eight months.

Gas stations in Powhatan, including Sheetz, were selling regular unleaded gas for around $2.70 a gallon yesterday.

The last time average prices in the Richmond area were below $3 was Feb. 20, when regular, self-serve was $2.96, according to AAA.

Less than a month ago, prices surpassed $4 a gallon at some stations, and some pumps ran dry, after Hurricane Ike shut down Gulf Coast refineries and pipelines that supply fuel to Virginia and other Eastern states.

Fuel supplies still have not returned to normal, though the situation continues to improve, several retailers said.

“Supplies are starting to get back up to speed after the hurricane,” said Monica Jones, a spokeswoman for the Sheetz convenience chain, which had some stations run out of gas after Ike.

“Now that the price of oil is coming down, we are hopeful that there is some relief on the horizon,” Jones said.

Oil prices closed at their lowest level in a year last week, falling below $85 a barrel even after OPEC signaled that it might tighten production in an effort to slow crude’s downward spiral.
“The last three days, we have brought our retail [prices] down 15 cents a gallon,” said Dave McComas, president and chief executive officer of the Fas Mart Convenience Stores Inc. chain, which also had several stations that went below $3 yesterday.

Yet motorists are still paying more for gasoline than last year at this time, when the average price in the Richmond area was $2.62.

AAA attributed recent declines to improving gasoline inventories, a strengthening of the U.S. dollar and decline in demand for oil and gasoline in the United States and Europe. The group said it expects prices to reach a national average of $3 a gallon by November, assuming no other supply disruptions or market jolts.

OPEC said last week that it would hold an extraordinary meeting Nov. 18 in Vienna, Austria, to discuss the widening economic crisis and how it is affecting the oil maret.

Contact John Reid Blackwell at (804) 775-8123 or .

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

AAA fuel guage report