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LONDON, Aug 23 (Reuters) A recent tumble in crude oil prices has made gasoline less expensive at the pumps over the past month, providing some relief for drivers in many parts of the world, a Reuters poll showed on Thursday.

However, with gasoline inventories in the United States running below seasonal norms, any supply hiccups in the world's top consumer can push up global motor fuel prices, analysts say.

Pump prices in the United States stood at an average of $2.79 a gallon ($0.73 per litre) last week, the government said this week. This is 14 cents lower than a year ago and compares with $2.96 a gallon in late-July.

International benchmark U.S. crude oil futures has lost about 11 percent of its value since it struck a record high of $78.77 a barrel on August 1. It was trading around $69.85 on Thursday.

London's Brent crude has also fallen 11 percent from a high of $78.40 in July.

However, on weekly basis, the average U.S. retail gasoline price ticked up 1.4 cents as prices rose late last week, with Hurricane Dean approaching the Gulf of Mexico.

''There is only a thin inventory cushion to soften the impact of any further disruptions,'' UBS Securities said in a research note. ''No wander then that the initial thread of Hurricane Dean was seen as a big deal.'' UBS cited low levels of gasoline imports to the U.S., partly because of limited export capability of European refiners.

EUROPE In many countries in Europe, gasoline pump prices have also dipped with the slide in crude prices.

Europe's benchmark Eurograde gasoline prices ticked up by more than $10 from Wednesday to $668 a tonne on Thursday after a spate of U.S. refinery glitches were reported. But they were down about 10 percent compared with early July.

In Britain, the average pump price was 96.2 pence ($1.91) per litre as of mid-August, or 0.5 pence lower than a month before. Prices were below record highs of 98.5 pence reached in summer 2006, the Automobile Association said earlier this week.

Drivers in the Netherlands paid an average 1.46 euros ($1.98) per litre, the most expensive gasoline price in the European Union. Still, the price was down by 4 euro cents from mid-July.

But Portugal and Ireland saw retail gasoline prices rise by one euro cents per litre.

In U.S. dollar terms, Norway's pump price, $2.08 (12.10 Norwegian Crown) per litre is the highest out of the 34 countries included in the Reuters survey. The price was unchanged from mid-July.

In Japan, the world's second-largest gasoline market after the U.S., pump prices rose and drivers paid the country's record high level of 145.5 yen ($1.26) per litre.

Venezuelan drivers benefited from the cheapest fuel in the survey, paying the equivalent of $0.03 per litre.

For a table of gasoline prices around the world please click on [ID:nL23923268] REUTERS DKS RK2252