U.S. gasoline price falls for seventh week- govt

WASHINGTON, Sept 28 (Reuters) - U.S. gasoline prices have fallen for the seventh consecutive week with the pump price off more than $1 a gallon from a year ago, the U.S. Energy Department said on Monday.

The national average price for regular unleaded gasoline fell 5.3 cents last week to $2.50 a gallon, down $1.13 from a year ago, the department's Energy Information Administration said in its weekly survey of service stations.

Crude oil accounts for about 60 percent of the cost of making gasoline, and falling crude oil prices in past weeks have allowed refiners to pass savings to consumers.

The price for U.S. crude oil rose 82 cents on Monday to $66.84 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, after falling steeply last week on worries about demand.

The EIA found the West Coast had the most expensive gasoline at $298 a gallon, down 4.6 cents. By city, San Francisco had the highest price at $3.13, down 5 cents.

The Gulf Coast states had the lowest regional price at $2.31 a gallon, down 4.8 cents. Houston had the cheapest city pump price at $2.23, down 4.5 cents.

The agency also said gasoline prices were down 3.1 cents at $3.11 in Los Angeles; down 4.4 cents at $2.88 in Seattle; down 6 cents at $2.56 in New York and down 7.1 cents at $2.52 in Chicago.

Separately, the average price for diesel fuel fell 2.1 cents to $2.60 a gallon, dropping for the fourth week in a row.

Diesel prices are down $1.36 from a year ago, the EIA said.

The West Coast had the most expensive diesel at $2.74 a gallon, down 4.1 cents. The Gulf Coast region had the cheapest diesel fuel at $2.53, down 1.7 cents. (Reporting by Timothy Gardner; Editing by Marguerita Choy)