AAA: Florida’s Gas Prices Drop 20 Cents In 9 Days

NOTE: All mentioned prices are for regular unleaded gas. Daytona Beach, FL – Now that the price of oil has suffered some losses, gas prices begin to back off of record highs. With that, Florida’s gas prices continue a 9-day streak of declines, dropping now a total of 20 cents a gallon. As of Sunday (March 20), drivers were paying an average of about $4.18 per gallon (regular unleaded). That has since gone down to around $4.16-4.17 a gallon according to AAA’s data as of Monday morning (March 21). About two weeks ago, prices began to surge around the world as Russia began its invasion of Ukraine. Following the start of the invasion, US oil prices reached a 2022 high of $123.70 per barrel, marking a $32 increase that resulted in a 90 cent jump at the pump. Prices dropped briefly, hitting a new low of $95.04 a barrel on Wednesday (March 16) before bouncing back up to $104.70 on Friday (March 18). AAA Spokesperson Mark Jenkins says the market still remains rather volatile. Still, oil prices aren’t as high as they could be. “Fortunately, oil prices are well below the high we saw more than a week ago. This should enable gas prices to slip lower this week, unless oil suddenly spikes again,” said Jenkins. Friday’s closing price is still $19 a barrel less than 2022’s highest price—with that $19 gap being the equivalent to a 45 cent swing at the pump. At the time of this report, the U.S. price of oil was trading $3 a barrel higher than Friday’s settlement. If that holds, it could erase about 5 to 10 cents from the potential 25 cent price drop, according to AAA. Locally & Around The State In the bi-county area, Volusia’s drivers are starting off with an average of about $4.10 a gallon, beginning the week about six cents lower than the state average. That’s after paying an average close to $4.34 a gallon last week. Flagler drivers are paying slightly more with averages closer to $4.13 a gallon. While most are enjoying lower gas prices, drivers in the West Palm Beach-Boca Raton metropolitan area are paying the highest averages in the state with $4.35 a gallon—just three cents shy of the 2022 high of $4.38 a gallon. Meanwhile, drivers in Punta Gorda and the Crestview-Fort Walton Beach area are seeing the lowest average in the state with $4.08. As of Monday morning, the national average was reported to be around $4.25 a gallon.  More Bang For Your Buck Even though prices are headed down, Floridians are still not out of the woods when it comes to paying high gas prices—as it currently costs around $63 to fill an average-sized 15-gallon tank in the state. To save some cash, drivers are advised to think about paying with cash instead of using their card, as some stations apply surcharges to those who use credit or debit. However, if you’d rather pay with a card anyway, there are a number of apps out there to help you save a buck here and there. Apps like GetUpside offer a program where you can get cash back for pumping at certain gas stations. Other apps like GasBuddy try to find where gas is the cheapest for you. They also offer a program where you can apply for their free discount card and get up to 25 cents off a gallon. To save on gas, think about combining trips and errands or carpooling. Also watch how you hit that brake and gas pedal, as aggressive acceleration and braking reduces gas mileage by about 15-30 percent at highway speeds and 10-40 percent in stop-and-go traffic.