TAMPA, Fla. – For the first time in 10 weeks, the national weekly average for regular retail gasoline has not increased, but remains relatively stable. While some states in the southeast such as Georgia and Tennessee have started to see pump prices drop, others such as Florida are showing signs of stability.
As demand starts to taper off with the end of the summer driving season and Gulf production resumes, motorists should start to see gas prices decrease. For the past four weeks, oil prices have traded between $96 and $97 a barrel. The stability in oil prices should also contribute to the price drop at the pump. A barrel of oil settled Friday at $96.42 on the New York Mercantile Exchange — 5 cents less than the week prior.
"The good news is gas prices are starting to fall as expected now that the summer driving season has come to an end and refineries prepare for production of the winter blend fuel,” said Jessica Brady, AAA spokeswoman, The Auto Club Group. "While gas prices aren’t expected to drop substantially during the next couple of weeks, motorists should start to see more stability and slight decreases at the pump."
The national average price of regular unleaded gasoline is $3.83, the same as a week ago today. Georgia’s average of $3.81 fell 3 cents from last week and Tennessee’s average of $3.65 dropped 1 cent from a week ago. Florida’s average of $3.79 increased 1 cent from a week ago, respectively. Visit AAA’s Daily Fuel Gauge Report to find national, state, and local metro market retail gasoline prices.
