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CAMARILLO – Gasoline prices tumbled 3 1/2 cents per gallon in the past three weeks, easing concerns of a summer shortage, an analyst said Sunday. 

The average retail price of gasoline, weighted to include all grades and taxes, was about $1.73 on Friday, down 3.48 cents per gallon since May 18, according to the Lundberg Survey of about 8,000 gas stations nationwide. It was the first price drop since March. 

Prices dropped despite the Memorial Day weekend, the traditional start of the summer season when driving — and thus gasoline demand — reaches its peak. 

“There was never any gasoline ’crisis,’ and I still maintain that for this summer there will be none,” analyst Trilby Lundberg said in a statement. “Supplies appear sufficient to keep prices stable, or slightly lower, for the near future.” 

Prices soared in April, “but refineries completed seasonal maintenance work and cranked up production well in time for the first real pull on supplies by vacationing motorists,” Lundberg said. 

Prices fell around the country but the largest declines were in the Midwest, where they had been highest. The price of regular self-serve gas fell 15 cents per gallon in Chicago, which previously had the highest average price.