ProMiles reported a national average of $3.144 on Friday, Oct. 7, down less than a penny from the previous day.

Many states still have average prices higher than the $3 mark. Quite a few did report minor decreases, with the biggest drop being 4 cents in Vermont. Even with that drop the price in that state is still above $3 per gallon.

Flying J was reporting low supplies at stations in Alabama, Georgia, Missouri, Mississippi, Texas and Virginia on Friday.

Travel Centers of America said on its Web site that it was out of fuel at one station in Marianna, FL. The company also said it was limiting fuel purchases to 50 gallons at stations in Georgia, Louisiana, Missouri, North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia.

Crude oil rose above $61 per barrel in midday trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange on Oct. 7. The day before it had dropped to a two-month low of $60.70 per barrel.

The Associated Press reported that analysts attributed the gain – the first in five days – to the onset of the winter season and the slow recovery of the oil producing regions in the Gulf of Mexico following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.