Kevin McCoy

USA TODAY

An apparent gas price war in one northern Michigan location briefly sent prices to a back-to-the-'60s low — 47 cents a gallon — according to GasBuddy and area TV stations.

Lucky motorists in Houghton Lake, Mich., were able to fuel up with the ultra-low-price regular gas Sunday at the Beacon and Bridge Market. Prices fluctuated, but at one point dropped to 77 cents a gallon, according to GasBuddy and area TV stations. Later, they briefly hit a low of 47 cents a gallon according to GasBuddy and a staffer at the location.

The cost, well below the $1.89-a-gallon national price, appeared to stem from local competition. A Marathon gas station also located in Houghton Lake also sold fuel for 95 cents a gallon on Sunday, GasBuddy reported.

Local police directed traffic in the area of U.S. 127 and M-55 because the lines of cars waiting to gas up were so long, WWTV/WWUP-TV 9&10 News reported.

The phenomenon didn't last long, however.

By Monday, the price of regular at the two Houghton Lake stations was up to $1.46 and $1.47 a gallon, according to GasBuddy, a leading provider of retail fuel pricing information and data that updates fuel prices at nearly 130,000 gas stations in the U.S. and Canada.

A phone operator who answered calls to the Beacon and Bridge Market on Monday said the fuel market director was not available for comment, but acknowledged that many motorists had been pleased with the low price.

U.S. gas prices have trended steadily downward — falling from $3.58 a gallon to $1.89 in GasBuddy's 18-month nationwide survey — as the international price of crude oil dropped below $30 a barrel.

Increased oil supply may send gas prices even lower. Iran's oil ministers said they intend to boost oil production and ship 500,000 barrels a day following the weekend's lifting of economic sanctions on the Mideast nation, the Islamic New Agency reported. Iran ultimately plans to ramp up to production of 2 million barrels a day.

Iranian oil likely to push prices lower

Some states near major oil refineries have seen prices fall even further than the national average.

The average statewide price of gas is $1.65 per gallon in Alabama and Arkansas, slightly below the $1.67 price in Texas but above the $1.56 cost in Oklahoma, according to GasBuddy.

But not every part of the U.S. shares super-low prices. GasBuddy's surveys showed the cost of a gallon of regular gas was $2.63 in Hawaii, $2.34 in Alaska and $2.76 in California.

State and local fuel taxes also play a role in gas prices. The statewide price of a gallon of regular was $2.09 in New York, GasBuddy reported. But in neighboring New Jersey, where local levies are lower, the price as $1.75.