Fuel gets cheaper

Florida gas prices dropped another 6 cents last week.

Gas prices in Florida dropped another 6 cents last week — a penny off the 2017 low set in March and flirting with levels not seen since last December, travel club AAA said in its weekly gas price update.

The average price for a gallon of unleaded regular gas in Florida on Monday was $2.27. That’s 20 cents less than the year’s highest price, $2.47, on April 21, and just one cent more than the year’s low, $2.26, on March 20.

“American motorists are the big winners here, as they fill their tanks for a summer road trip,” AAA spokesman Mark Jenkins said.

The lower prices are being driven by continued declines in crude oil prices. Last week, the price of a barrel of West Texas Intermediate crude fell to $44.46 on the New York Mercantile Exchange, its lowest since closing at $43.32 last Nov. 14.

On Monday, the price dropped even further, closing at $44.20.

But if crude oil prices keep dropping, motorists could see pump prices fall even further, Jenkins said.

Meanwhile, market watchers are keeping an eye on two tropical weather systems in the Atlantic basin. “Oil prices would climb if either of them develop into a major storm and threaten refineries along the Gulf Coast,” Jenkins said.

The $2.31 average pump price in Broward County on Monday was 5 cents less than the previous week, while Palm Beach County’s $2.36 average was down 6 cents. The $2.32 average price in Miami-Dade County was 4 cents less than the previous Monday.

In South Florida, prices tend to be higher because of higher local taxes and an overall higher price of doing business here.

But motorists can find prices well under the area averages if they know where to look.

Three stations in West Palm Beach were selling for $2.04, the lowest available price in Palm Beach County, according to the price-comparison website GasBuddy.com They were: Wawa on Belvedere Road and Australian Avenue, just west of Interstate 95; Cumberland Farms on North Military Trail at Woodstock Drive near Keiser University; and Murphy USA on North Military Trail at Belvedere Road.

Lowest prices in Broward and Miami-Dade counties weren’t as dramatic.

In Broward, several stations were at $2.13, including Citgo, Sunoco and Valero on Federal Highway, just north of East Atlantic Boulevard in Pompano Beach; and Rocket Fuel on Johnson Street and Northwest 68th Terrace in Pembroke Pines.

Two stations in Miami-Dade were at $2.12 — Sunshine Gas at Northwest 183rd Street and Douglas Road; and Weststar along the Palmetto Expressway at Douglas Road. Both are in Miami Gardens, southwest of Hard Rock Stadium.

“American motorists are the big winners here, as they fill their tanks for a summer road trip.” Mark Jenkins, AAA spokesman

SUSAN STOCKER/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER A driver fills his tank at a Marathon gas station in Hollywood. Motorists are finding some of the lowest gas prices of the year with an average of $2.31 per gallon in Broward, according to AAA.