But prices at the pump are much higher than a year earlier. The average price for a gallon of regular in California fell 2.1 cents a gallon in the last week to $3.923. Nationally, prices slipped 6 cents to $3.601 a gallon.Retail gasoline prices are falling, but slowly. Even worse for consumers during a weak economic recovery, the pump pain remains far above the cost of filling up a tank a year earlier.