Less pain at the pump for drivers - and Obama
By: CBS News
Updated: October 20, 2012
The national average for a gallon of regular has fallen for more than 10 straight days, and now stands at $3.69.
The steady decline comes with Election Day right around the corner.
Earlier in the campaign, President Obama's Republican challenger, Mitt Romney, made an issue of high gas prices.
But that pendulum has swung in favor of the president.
And Tom Kloza, chief oil analyst of the Oil Price Information Service, says prices have been heading down in all 48 states in the continental U.S., including, of course, the "battleground" states expected to swing the election.
He adds that, "The biggest declines, and the places you'll most likely see less than $3 is probably in the Southeast and some of the 'red' states.
"But Ohio right now, for example, is somewhere between $3 and $3.20 a gallon. So [Obama] is gonna get a little bit of benefit from that."
Last year at this time, the national average was $3.47, and Klouza says the odds "are probably 50-50 we might see" that price by Election Day.
"I think there's a really good chance, and these prices are going to be very similar to what we saw last year: five-to-15 cents lower every week for the next three weeks."
To see the entire interview, with "CBS This Morning: Saturday" co-hosts Anthony Mason and Rebecca Jarvis, click on the video in the player above.