Newfoundland and Labrador's fuel regulator marked the start of summer Thursday by shaving a few cents off the maximum price of gasoline.

Gas prices fell by 2.5 cents or 2.6 cents per litre, depending on rounding for taxes, in the latest price settings issued by the Petroleum Pricing Office.

Gas prices in Newfoundland and Labrador dropped Thursday by about 2.5 cents per litre.
(CBC)

The order makes it illegal to sell self-serve unleaded gas at a price higher than $1.161 per litre on the Avalon Peninsula, where prices are cheapest.

The PPO adjusts settings around the province to account for transportation and handling costs. In the Springdale area, for instance, the maximum price is $1.20 per litre, and $1.215 in western Labrador.

The setting, which comes as the summer driving season gears up, puts the cost of gas just a penny above the settings of a year ago.

The order is the second drop over the past month, bringing gas prices down by about six cents per litre.

The PPO, which issues price settings every two weeks, said the international petroleum market continues to "experience considerable volatility, virtually on a daily basis."

The PPO, which has been regulating fuel prices in Newfoundland and Labrador since 2001, raised the cost of furnace and stove oil by 0.81 cents per litre. It dropped household propane products by 1.5 cents per litre.