LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – Drivers in Arkansas had some good news this week as prices at the gas pump dropped for the first time in a month.

AAA reports that gas prices in Arkansas dropped 5 cents in the past seven days. This average price change was the first decrease since prices started its most recent climb in September.

The average price for a gallon of regular in Arkansas is $3.35 per gallon on Thursday, according to AAA. This is a drop from Wednesday’s $3.63 average and below the $3.40 average in the state seven days ago.

AAA said that a month ago the average cost of a gallon of regular in Arkansas was $3.20 and a year ago it was $3.05. The record high for a gallon of gas in the Natural State was $4.54, set in June.

Northwest Arkansas has the highest average price in the state, with the Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers metro at $3.45 a gallon average. Hot Springs, Jonesboro and Little Rock-North Little Rock are on the bottom of the curve at a $3.27 per gallon average, the lowest in the state.

The national average for a gallon of gas is $3.84, down 8 cents from the average seven days ago but 48 cents more than the average price a year ago.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries announced on Oct. 5 that it would cut oil production by 2 million barrels per day to prop up crude prices. On Tuesday, President Biden announced that a continuing release of oil from the United State’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve would continue after 15 million barrels were released in March.

A spokesman for the AAA said that despite a volatile market and tight supply, the release from the strategic reserve could help cap crude oil prices, keeping pump prices trending downward.