The price of crude oil fell Tuesday to less than $79 per 42-gallon barrel on the U.S. wholesale market, leaving the commodity down by about a third since early March. At its current price, retail gasoline could soon fall to as low as $3.10 per gallon, analysts said Tuesday.

Crude oil for August delivery, the most actively traded on the Comex, fell to an intra-day low of $78.36 before trimming its losses and edging up to $79.07. Since March 1 the price of crude oil has fallen 28.19 percent as fears of a global economic slowdown replaced worries about a conflict between Iran and Western powers over the Islamic Republic's nuclear program.

Capital Economics said in a note that the crude oil price drop since March suggests gasoline prices will soon drop to an 18-month low of around $3.10.

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