The nationwide average retail price of regular gasoline this week was just 169 yen per liter, falling for the second consecutive week.
According to the Petroleum Information Center, which is commissioned by the government to investigate gasoline prices, the average retail price of regular gasoline as of the 22nd was just 169 yen per liter nationwide, down 0.8 yen from last week.
Prices fell for the second week in a row, mainly due to government subsidies pushing down wholesale prices of oil wholesalers.
Regarding the future outlook, the Petroleum Information Center said, ``In addition to growing concerns about economic recession in the United States and China, government subsidies are also effective, and we expect prices to fall next week.''