PORTLAND (AP) — Gasoline prices keep heading down.

The average price statewide for a gallon of regular dropped 16 cents this week to $2.22, the lowest level since March 2006.

Nationally, the average fell 15 cents to $2.07 a gallon — the lowest since March 2005.

AAA Oregon says both averages are about a dollar lower than a year ago, and about 50 percent lower than the record highs of more than $4 a gallon set in July.

Gas prices are expected to stabilize and possibly even rise just before Thanksgiving, but a national average of $2 per gallon is still expected over the next few weeks.

The AAA projects a slight drop in the number of Thanksgiving travelers as the economic downturn keeps pointing toward a recession.