Gas prices have now dropped for six weeks in a row. And those prices could fall even lower yet, especially after the price of oil is at its lowest point since May 2013.
“Motorists should continue to see a discount at the pump,” said AAA spokesman Mark Jenkins, in a release. “High domestic oil supplies, a decrease in global demand, and the easing of geopolitical tensions in Libya and Iraq are keeping downward pressure on gasoline prices.”
Beginning Monday, refineries will no longer need to sell summer-blend gasoline, Jenkins said. Winter-blend is cheaper to produce, which will help push prices even lower in the coming months.
The price for a gallon of regular unleaded fuel in Florida was $3.32 on Sunday, compared to $3.36 a week ago. That’s down 16 cents a gallon from a year ago.
The price for a barrel of oil settled at $92.27 on Friday, down a little more than a dollar from the previous week. It’s at its cheapest level in four months.
The price drop came as the International Energy Agency decreased its 2015 oil demand forecast late last week, where it estimated that global demand will rise just 1.3 percent next year.
“The bottom fell out of oil prices this week,” Jenkins said. “U.S. domestic oil production is set to hit a 45-year high by next year. Barring a major weather event in the Gulf, or overseas geopolitical tensions, we should continue to see oil prices fall.”
In Zephyrhills, gas is cheaper than most other places in the county, with six gas stations checking in at $3.15. Yet, the Citgo at Gall Boulevard and Chancey Road reported prices of $3.34. Dade City saw a range of $3.15 at the RaceWay on U.S. 301 and McDonald Road, to $3.29 at a BP station at the U.S. 98 Bypass.
Four locations in Land O’ Lakes offered gas at $3.19 on Sunday, according to GasBuddy.com. They included the RaceTrac on Land O’ Lakes Boulevard near Lake Patience Road and on State Road 52 near Silver Palm Boulevard, as well as the Citgo station on Land O’ Lakes Boulevard near Lake Patience Road as well, and the Mobil station on State Road 52 near the Suncoast Parkway.
The most expensive reported was $3.30 at a Sunoco station on Land O’ Lakes Boulevard near Causeway Boulevard.
In Lutz, gas prices Sunday ranged from $3.21 at the Circle K on Van Dyke and Old Tobacco roads, to $3.39 at two Shell stations near Van Dyke.
Wesley Chapel prices were the lowest at Sam’s Club at State Road 56 near Bruce B. Downs Boulevard at $3.16, and reportedly the most expensive at a Shell station nearby, where gas sold for $3.29.
