The average for a gallon of regular no-lead was down a cent, to $4.09, in the five-county Philadelphia area. This follows a 4-cent decrease over the weekend.

In South Jersey, the price went down a penny to $3.90, after a 2-cent decrease over the weekend.

The national average was down 1 cent since yesterday to $4.06, after decreasing 4 cents over the weekend.

In the diesel lines, the average in the Philadelphia area dropped below $5 a gallon - to $4.98 - for the first time since June 10.

The diesel average was down a penny, to $4.71, in South Jersey.

At the national level, diesel slipped down a cent to $4.81.

Meanwhile, a federal task force set up to examine the sharp run-up in oil prices says in an interim report that fundamental supply-and-demand factors are most likely to blame.

A number of lawmakers and other critics have blamed the historic rise in prices on speculators that they say are manipulating prices.

The Interagency Task Force on Commodity Markets, chaired by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, was formed last month to examine investment practices and fundamental market factors.

The task force plans to continue evaluating markets and issue a further report later this year, but says it is issuing an interim report on crude "given the importance and timeliness of their research efforts."

Wall Street traded modestly higher today as investors were encouraged by another sharp drop in oil prices and snapped up shares of undervalued financial companies.

The market initially fell on heightened concerns about the continuing impact of the housing market's downturn that led to the credit crisis. However, a $4 drop in oil persuaded investors to wade back into equities - including downtrodden banks and brokerage.