LI gas prices down for holiday travel

Gasoline prices still are declining as motorists begin filling their tanks for holiday trips.

Regular averaged $3.551 a gallon Monday morning on Long Island, down 3.6 cents from a week ago, on weak demand and falling crude oil prices as investors worry that Europe’s debt crisis will have economic repercussions worldwide and slow energy consumption.

Long Island’s average is now less than 27 cents a gallon higher than last year, one of the year’s most favorable comparisons for motorists.

Analyst Peter Beutel, the principal of energy consulting firm Cameron Hanover in Connecticut, tells clients in a newsletter Monday morning, "We could easily see prices move higher from here, if the European situation can get itself cleaned up."