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COLUMBIA (WACH) -- The pain at the pump in the Midlands is once again easing.

Motorists are now paying an average of $3.31 per gallon for unleaded.  That's down over 7 cents since last week.

This week's average is more than 82 cents higher than last year at this same time and 3.6 cents lower than one month ago.

South Carolina continues to be ranked as the top state with the lowest gas prices in the U.S.  Spartanburg, Greenville and Columbia all rank in the top ten list for cities with low gas prices.

"It took the end of summer for a drop in retail gasoline prices, but I'm sure motorists won't complain that we're finally seeing some drops in prices," said Patrick DeHaan, GasBuddy.com Senior Petroleum Analyst. "We've seen wholesale prices continue to be somewhat volatile, but I believe as we enter October we'll see markets slowly quiet down with retail gasoline prices falling to $3.35-$3.55 on average by Thanksgiving, with the exception being typical hotspots on the West Coast," DeHaan adds.

The current national average is $3.61, down 4.2 cents since last week's report by GasBuddy.com. 

Visit our Pain at the Pump page for the latest gas prices in your neighborhood.