Several gas stations in the region have dropped their price for regular unleaded below the $2 threshhold, but Connecticut's average as a whole will not dip below that level until later this week, according to the latest survey by AAA.

The AAA Fuel Gauge Report released Monday noted that gas in the New London area is among the lowest in the state, averaging $2.02 a gallon. But Connecticut as a whole, with a $2.05 average, is weeks behind the rest of the nation, which saw gas prices drop below $2 a gallon at the beginning of the year.

“Connecticut has been lagging behind the national average,” AAA spokesperson Amy Parmenter acknowledged in a statement. “But it’s certainly a ‘better late than never’ scenario for drivers across the state who are paying less and less every day."

Nationally, the average price for regular unleaded this week is $1.89 a gallon, the lowest it's been in nearly seven years. It's also 7 cents below the average price seen last week, both nationally and in Connecticut.

Statewide, Bridgeport has the highest gas prices in the state, averaging $2.15 a gallon.

California has the highest fuel prices in the nation, according to AAA, with a gallon of regular going for an average price of $2.77. In Oklahoma, the average price is $1.60 — lowest in the nation.

But there have been reports at isolated gas stations of prices below $1 a gallon. According to a report in USA Today, a gas station in Houghton Lake, Mich., was offering fuel at 77 a gallon over the weekend — a price not seen regularly since the 1960s.

Locally, the lowest price reported by GasBuddy.com Monday was at BJ's in Waterford at $1.91 a gallon. Three of the next lowest prices were recorded in East Lyme at a Citgo station on Flanders Road, $1.93; a Mobil station on West Main Street, $1.94, and Cory's service station on Flanders Road, $1.97.

The plunging price of crude oil on international markets, now below $30 a barrel, has precipitated a rapid gas-price drop over the past year and a half, according to various news reports. Predictions are for even lower costs ahead as Iran prepares to boost oil production in response to the lifting of economic sanctions worked out by the Obama administration as part of its deal to assure that the Middle East country backs away from nuclear proliferation.

AAA also is predicting lower gas prices ahead. This year's average price is expected to fall below last year's, according to the automobile association.

l.howard@theday.com

Twitter: @KingstonLeeHow