The Laker/Lutz News

Serving Lutz since 1964 and Pasco since 1981.
Proud to be independently owned.

Libya

Another steep drop sends gas prices closer to $3

By

It’s good news for travelers this week as the price of gas fell another 6 cents per gallon this past week, hitting its lowest point since February, and making that elusive sub-$3 mark look even more realistic.

Part of that continued decrease in price could come from what refineries have to do every year: switch from summer blend to winter blend fuel.

“Winter blend gas is cheaper to produce, because it does not require the additives necessary in summer blend,” said AAA spokesman Josh Carrasco, in a release. “Also, here in the U.S., we continue benefiting from historic domestic oil production. Both of these factors continue placing downward pressure on gas prices.”

But the price for a barrel of oil did go up this past week 14 cents, allowing it to close at $92.41. Part of that was caused by oil supply reductions from OPEC. At the same time, Libya shut down its largest oil field due to escalating tensions in the area there, AAA said, while Saudi Arabia announced its largest reduction in oil exports in 18 months.

OPEC, the group said, supplies about 40 percent of the world’s oil.

“Right now, domestic oil supply is outpacing demand,” Carrasco said, “Geopolitical tensions and supply cuts caused oil to increase this week, but looking ahead, it will be challenging for OPEC to cut production to the point that it has significant impact due to high crude production in the U.S.”

The price of gas in Florida was $3.29 a gallon, down 3 cents from last week, and 13 cents from the year before. It’s also a nickel cheaper than what it was a month ago.

Four gas stations in Land O’ Lakes reported gas at the area’s lowest rate of $3.17, according to GasBuddy. That includes a 7-Eleven, RaceTrac, Citgo and Marathon. The most expensive was reported at the Shell station on State Road 54 and State Road 56, where gas was selling for $3.29.

Sam’s Club continues to remain the cheapest in Wesley Chapel at $3.15, while the Shell station at Bruce B. Downs Boulevard near State Road 56 was the highest at $3.29.

In Lutz, gas prices ranged form $3.16 at two Citgo stations, to $3.39 at two Shell stations. Zephyrhills once again offered the cheapest gas in the area, with the Marathon station at Eiland Boulevard and Geiger Road offering gas at $3.13 per gallon, while the Cumberland Farms at State Road 54 and Morris Bridge Road was reported at $3.21.

 

Gas prices fall in Zephyrhills, Dade City

By

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.

World in chaos, but gas prices still dropping

By

Gas prices are inching closer and closer to a milestone it hasn’t reached in nearly four years: Sell of less than $3 per gallon.

The decline in the cost of a gallon go gas continued last week, with Florida’s average dropping another 2 cents to $3.35 on Sunday, according to a new report from AAA – The Auto Club Group. In fact, gas prices in some metropolitan markets in the south have actually fallen below $3.20, which some stations not far from Tampa International Airport actually dipping below $3.10 as well.

That drop has taken place despite the turmoil happening overseas, said AAA spokesman Mark Jenkins.

“Motorists are reaping the benefits of booming domestic oil production, which has provided the cheapest gas prices for August in years,” he said, in a release. “The price of oil declined slightly last week, so gas prices could skip even more this week.”

Tensions between Russia and Ukraine continue, as well as some unrest in Libya. Yet, nothing overseas has disrupted oil distribution, Jenkins said. The price of a barrel of oil dropped 30 cents to $97.35, suggesting there is still more room for gas costs to drop.

Nationally, gas has averaged $3.46 a gallon, down  2 cents from a week ago. Florida gas is down 16 cents from a year ago, and 18 cents from just a month ago.

Gas prices in Land O’ Lakes on Sunday were reported as low as $3.15 at the Hess station on State Road 52 and U.S. 41, according to GasBuddy. The most expensive there was reported in the Shell station on State Road 54 and State Road 56, where prices checked in at $3.39 late Sunday night.

Prices were at $3.16 in some parts of Wesley Chapel and New Tampa, including the Sam’s Club on State Road 56 near Bruce B. Downs Boulevard, as well as the Kangaroo station at 14611 Bruce B. Downs Blvd. The most expensive in that area, according to GasBuddy, was the Shell station at County Road 54 and Oakley Boulevard.

In Lutz, prices were anywhere from $3.18 like at both a Chevron and Sunoco station at State Road 54 and Collier Parkway, and $3.39 at the Shell station at North Dale Mabry Highway and Van Dyke Road.

The cheapest gas in Zephyrhills was $3.28 at a Sunoco station at Gall Boulevard and Geiger Road, with the most expensive reported at Cumberland Farms at State Road 39 and U.S. 301, at $3.36.

Dade City was a lot better, at least for anyone willing to travel north toward Hernando County. The Shell station at Cortez Boulevard and U.S. 301 was selling gas at $3.19, according to GasBuddy, while the most costly was at a Citgo at Lock and 21st streets, where regular gas was selling for $3.49 Sunday.

 

Gas prices locally are falling

By

Not even the Fourth of July weekend was enough to kick up oil prices, as gasoline costs are falling to what one organization is calling a three-month low.

The price of oil dropped for the third consecutive week, allowing the national average for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline to fall for the 16th straight day, according to a new report from AAA. Since last week, the average price in the nation fell 4 cents to $3.62, the lowest price since April.

“Oil pieces hit a free-fall at the end of last week,” AAA spokesman Mark Jenkins said, in a release. “As a result, motorists in the Southeast could see prices at the pump fall 10 to 20 cents in the next two weeks.

Part of the relief came from increased U.S. stockpiles of oil, as well as easing risks in Iraq and Libya, Jenkins said. A barrel of oil was priced at a little more than $100 on Friday, down more than 3 percent from the week before.

The average price for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline in Florida is 3 cents cheaper than last week, and the lowest since March 25. Gas in Florida on Sunday was $3.56 compared to the national average of $3.62. It’s still slightly above what prices were this time a year ago, at $3.52.