MIAMI – With school out for the summer, there’s good news for those planning a road trip. Gas prices in Florida have dropped to the lowest since February.
Over the last 17 consecutive days, the state average has dropped a total of 25 cents. At first, gas prices gradually declined about one cent per day for about a week. Then discounts accelerated, dropping 19 cents in the past nine days, according to AAA.
“Floridians and summer visitors will be pleasantly surprised when they go to fill up the gas tank this week,” said AAA spokesman Mark Jenkins.
Sunday’s state average was $3.30 per gallon. That’s the lowest daily average price since February 28th.
Gas prices in Miami-Dade and Broward
On Monday, the average in Miami-Dade was $3.38 a gallon, down from $3.49 a week ago. Broward’s average was $3.36 a gallon, down from $3.50 a week ago.
The most expensive cities in the state for gas are Miami, West Palm Beach, and Naples. The cheapest places for gas are all in the panhandle.
Why the dip at the pump?
“Gas prices are the lowest in several months because of weakness in the oil and gasoline futures markets,” said Jenkins.
During most of March and April, U.S. oil prices ranged from $80-85 per barrel. However, during the past three weeks, crude prices dropped a total of 6%. Friday’s closing price was $75.53 per barrel – down almost $5 per barrel from three weeks ago.
“Oil analysts at OPIS attribute the weakness in the petroleum markets to a stronger dollar and better-than-expected U.S. employment data, which raised concerns that the Federal Reserve could delay an interest rate cut. The market believes this would stall fuel demand growth. Additionally, analysts attribute oil price losses to the recent agreement between OPEC and its allies to gradually relax some voluntary output cuts later this year. Doing so could strengthen global fuel supplies,” according to AAA.
