U.S. gasoline prices slide to $3.70/gallon-survey

NEW YORK Aug 24 (Reuters) - The average retail price of a gallon of gasoline in the United States declined in the past two weeks, extending a fall from a record high in July, according to the latest nationwide Lundberg survey on Sunday.

The national average price for self-serve, regular unleaded gas was $3.6967 a gallon on Aug. 22, down about 15.05 cents per gallon in the past two weeks. It was also down 41.57 cents from a record high of $4.1124 in a July 11, survey.

Survey editor Trilby Lundberg said the latest decline did not come from a fall in crude oil prices, but instead from weaker gasoline demand and slimmer profit margins for both refiners and, to a lesser degree, gasoline retailers.

At $3.37 a gallon, St. Louis, Missouri, had the lowest average price for self-serve, regular unleaded gas, while the highest price was $4.34 a gallon in Anchorage, Alaska, the survey said. In Los Angeles, the biggest U.S. gasoline market, the average price was $3.92.

If crude oil prices do not trend upward, gasoline pump prices would likely fall further, Lundberg said, adding that there was usually a seasonal demand drop in demand after August.

Lundberg noted recent volatility in crude oil prices, and said a shaky U.S. dollar as well as uncertainty over Russia's regional energy supply control was keeping the market at attention. (Reporting by Ritsuko Ando, editing by Maureen Bavdek)