By: Knox Graham

JACKSON, Miss.-- After an almost eight week climb for gas prices in the country from just above $3.35/gallon, gas prices continue to slowly dip down.

Many people in-state have pointed to gas prices rising after Hurricane Isaac, and while true, doesn't paint the whole picture.  Prices around the country and in Mississippi even in July were rising weeks before the hurricane made landfall on the coast.

News Mississippi brought you several stories of a limited number of oil rigs that were shut down in the Gulf of Mexico during the storm and that had a tiny bit to do with oil prices and thusly gas.  But the upward trend had been in place for over a month according to www.gasbuddy.com which has a 24 month chart for comparison.

And while gas continues to drop a cent or two at a time, it's still putting a hurting on many Mississippians wallets.

From a story News Mississippi story we brought you earlier this week, a lot depends on the Middle East turmoil and the supply the Saudi Arabians are willing to churn out.

Currently in the state capital of Jackson, Miss. an average gallon of gas is $3.45/gallon.  That's down almost seven cents in one week as supply has started to grow with oil and it's trickled down to the pumps state-side.

That national price for a gallon of gas is $3.81/gallon.  That's still almost a half dollar increase from July.