Florida drivers get a break at the pump
TALLAHASSEE - Florida drivers got a break as the average price of gasoline fell 16 cents a gallon in the past week.
The AAA auto club said the average price of a gallon of regular unleaded was $3.44 on Monday, amid tepid pre-Memorial Day demand and oil trading below $80 a barrel. The national average Monday was $3.62 a gallon.
Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, said in a blog post last week he expects gas prices "to continue cooling" because of seasonal factors and because "a weaker-than-expected jobs report is adding to some concerns that gasoline demand could remain weak through the summer driving season, which is just a few weeks from beginning."
Florida's average price Monday was 9 cents lower than a month ago and 5 cents lower than a year ago. Areas in the Panhandle continued to have the state's cheapest gas Monday, including an average of $3.26 a gallon in the Crestview-Fort Walton Beach area, according to AAA. By contrast, motorists paid an average of $3.67 in the West Palm Beach-Boca Raton area.