Gasoline at U.S. pumps dropped as oil prices declined and refineries restored production of the motor fuel after equipment shutdowns.

The national average price for regular, unleaded gasoline fell 4.5 cents to $3.349 a gallon today from a week earlier, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said in the report posted on the agency’s website. The price was $3.286 a year ago.

Oil prices have dropped almost $7 a barrel since the end of September on speculation that weak economic growth will reduce fuel demand. Gasoline inventories in the U.S. rose 7.86 million barrels in the seven days ended Nov. 30, the biggest weekly gain since Sept. 21, 2001, Energy Department data show.

To contact the reporter on this story: Lynn Doan in San Francisco at ldoan6@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Dan Stets at dstets@bloomberg.net