NORTHEAST OHIO - Prices at the pump in Northeast Ohio are continuing to drop this week with this week's local average 16 cents lower than last week.

This week's average in Northeast Ohio is $3.611 per gallon compared to last week's $3.779 per gallon. Last year's average this week was $3.218 per gallon. This week's national average is $3.79.

According to AAA, the drop in prices is primarily due to lower oil prices and fewer drivers than usual filling up. Global recession fears and the government's plan to continue tapping into the Strategic Petroleum Reserve into December have also helped temper prices.

While this announcement could take some pressure off of pump prices, the exact pricing impact is uncertain.

According to the most recent data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA), demand for gasoline increased slightly from 8.28 million barrels per day to 8.68 million barrels per day last week.

Total domestic gasoline stocks decreased from 209.5 million barrels to 209.4 million barrels last week. Despite the slight increase in demand, demand remains nearly 1 million barrels lower than this date last year.

At the close of Friday's formal trading session, West Texas Intermediate increased by 54 cents to settle at $85.05.

Despite the increase in crude prices after the EIA reported total domestic commercial crude inventories dropped by 1.7 million barrels to 437.4 million barrels last week, the price of oil has declined earlier in the week due to ongoing market concerns about crude demand as recession fears increase.