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Gas prices still recovering from Labor Day weekend

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Gas prices are still trying to come down after the expected bump during Labor Day weekend, but that hasn’t stopped gas prices from being the lowest still since 2010 as September gets under way.

And prices could get better, especially with federal employment levels lower than expected.

“Demand typically eases going into the fall, but a high jobless report causes speculation that demand for gasoline may be even lower,” said Mark Jenkins, a spokesman for AAA-The Auto Club Group, in a release. “This report, combined with easing geopolitical tensions between Russia and Ukraine, and refineries beginning to switch from summer to winter blend fuels, all continue to place downward pressure on what is already unseasonably low gas prices.”

That trend, as Jenkins has shared before, could mean gas cheaper than $3 a gallon before the end of the year.

The U.S. Department of Labor reported last week that 142,000 new jobs were created in August, lowering the national unemployment rate slightly to 6.1 percent. While that is a positive growth in jobs, it was lower than analysts had expected.

Oil prices took a hit this past week as well, with a barrel of oil selling for $93.29 on Friday, a drop of $2.67 from the previous week. That is a seven-month low for crude.

The average gallon of gas in Florida was $3.36 on Sunday, down a penny from $3.37 a week ago, and 3 cents from a month ago. It’s 19 cents lower than what it was a year ago, however, AAA reported.

“Some markets are seeing more expensive gasoline compared to last week,” Jenkins said. “Much of that has to do with demand jumping during the Labor Day weekend, causing lower supplies and higher prices. It is possible that prices could inch up toward the middle of the month as refineries prepare to switch to the cheaper-to-produce winter blend gasoline on Sept. 15, but prices usually fall through the remainder of the year.”

The cheapest gas in Land O’ Lakes on Sunday night was $3.19 at the Mobil station on State Road 52 near the Suncoast Parkway, according to GasBuddy. The Shell station at State Road 54 and State Road 56 was listed as the most expensive at $3.37.

Wesley Chapel had some cheaper gas, found once again at Sam’s Club on State Road 56 near Bruce B. Downs Boulevard, where prices were reported at $3.17. Four locations — including a Shell station, 7-Eleven, Hess and Mobil — had gas prices at $3.37.

In Lutz, prices ranged from $3.21 at the Circle K on Van Dyke and Old Tobacco roads, to $3.39 at two Shell stations — one on Van Dyke near Lakeshore Drive, the other at North Dale Mabry Highway at Van Dyke.

Gas prices in Zephyrhills were found from $3.22 at a Mobil station on State Road 54 near Allen Road, to $3.34 at a Citgo on Gall Boulevard and Chancey Road. The cheapest gas in Dade City was $3.25 at three locations — Raceway, Marathon and Clark — while the most expensive, according to GasBuddy, was found at the Chevron station on Fort King Road and Clinton Avenue for $3.31.

 

World in chaos, but gas prices still dropping

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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.

 

Downed airliner could push gas prices back up

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The shooting down of a Malaysian Airlines plane in the Ukraine may not have only caused grief from those who lost loved ones and intensified conflict in the European country, but it might hit gas prices at the pump as well.

Oil prices jumped more than 2 percent following news of the airline tragedy, increases that will soon make their way to the cost of a gallon of gas, AAA officials said.

“Oil rose on concerns that violence could spread in response to the crash,” said Mark Jenkins, a AAA spokesman, in a release. “Gas prices are currently falling more than a half-cent a day, but geopolitical tension could slow the rate of discount at the pump this week.”

The average cost for a gallon of unleaded in Florida was $3.51, compared to $3.56 a week ago. It’s also down from June’s cost of $3.61, and July 2013’s price of $3.62. It’s also nearly 8 cents below the national average.

Sunday marked the 23rd consecutive day prices dropped in Florida, while Georgia is experiencing a streak of 27 days in declines, and Tennessee 25. Among those states, Georgia has the cheapest gas as $3.48 as of Sunday.

 

Gas prices still climbing … thanks to Russia?

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A gallon of gas in the greater Tampa Bay area is 8 cents more expensive than it was a month ago, and at least part of the blame can land at the feet of Vladimir Putin.

Auto club group AAA says gas prices in the state are at their highest level since last September — $3.56 in Florida, and $3.49 locally — because of shorter supplies of ethanol and continued tension in Europe between Russia and the Ukraine.

“When there is no ethanol blend in the gasoline, you could see the price of gas increase,” said Mark Jenkins, AAA spokesman, in a release. “That is because a higher costing product, premium gasoline, is being used to increase the octane level.”

Gas prices in most areas of Florida can contain as much as 10 percent ethanol, which helps keep prices down but octane levels where they need to be. When ethanol is in short supply, petroleum companies instead have to use more expensive gasoline to make a blend that remains at 87-octane grade material, according to the Oil Price Information Service.

On top of that, tensions in the Ukraine could disrupt supply that runs through and from the country, which could cause prices to spike.

Gasoline prices have remained mostly steady over the past week, and is still cheaper than the $3.59 per gallon reported a year ago. The highest gas has ever been was in July 2008 when regular unleaded topped $4.

Diesel has remained steady over the past year, currently at $4.05 per gallon, compared to $4.03 in March 2013. Its highest price was $4.82, also in July 2008.

But there is good news on the horizon. Although there is the potential that gas could climb another 20 cents per gallon in the coming weeks nationally, it is expected to start falling as April continues on. That will especially be the case when gas stations switch over to its summer blend gasoline May 1.

Prices in March typically climb 20 cents during March, but so far this year, that average has been 8 cents nationwide. AAA says it’s not expecting prices to finish as high as they were last year.

The most expensive gas in Florida is in West Palm Beach where prices are $3.67 per gallon. The cheapest is in Tallahassee at $3.45 for regular unleaded.