Pumped-up prices

Gasoline prices spiked amid Irma, but are drifting back down much more slowly.

A month after Hurricane Irma swept through Florida, gas prices continue to take their sweet time dropping.

That’s just how it goes, industry experts say. “There’s an old saying: Gas prices rise like a rocket and fall like a feather,” said Josh Carrasco, spokesman for travel club AAA. That’s because speculators respond much more quickly to bad news [a hurricane is coming!] than positive news [oil supplies are safe!], he said.

Monday’s statewide average per-gallon price of $2.53 was eight cents less than the previous Monday, and 20 cents less than Sept. 9, when it was $2.73.

You might remember Sept. 9 as the day most Florida residents were boarded up inside their homes, waiting for Irma to make landfall the next morning. By then, most gas stations were closed and depleted — bled dry by motorists willing to wait in long lines to keep their tanks full.

That high demand, coupled with refinery disruptions after Hurricane Harvey hit the Gulf Coast, had driven prices up 42 cents a gallon over a two-week span.

And that was after a 12-cent jump between late July and late August.

Remember early July, when the statewide average was $2.15 and gas could easily be found — even in South Florida — under $2.10? Those were good times.

But there’s no use fixating on the past.

Today, consumers have a new concern — potential impact from Hurricane Nate.

Nate made landfall in southeast Louisiana and near Biloxi, Mississippi as a Category 1 hurricane. Oil rigs were shut down ahead of the storm and ports were closed from New Orleans to Panama City. On Monday, analysts were quoted on financial news sites saying the storm wasn’t believed to have caused significant damage.

If that holds true and operations resume as expected this week, gas prices should drop another five to 10 cents, said Mark Jenkins, spokesman for travel club AAA.

“However, if refineries and oil rigs have a difficult time resuming normal operations, and futures prices spike, then the local gas price plunge could still stall out,” Jenkins said. “This is something that will take a few days to play

out.” Meanwhile, prices on Monday remained higher in South Florida than the statewide average — $2.61 in Broward County and $2.66 in Palm Beach and MiamiDade counties.

But Monday also brought hopeful signs for consumers who prefer gas prices lower rather than higher.

The gas-price comparison website GasBuddy.com shows numerous gas stations in the tri-county region with prices below $2.50, including four stations in Lake Worth selling for $2.42.

In Broward County, hefty price drops were occurring in the Davie area, including down to $2.29 at Rocket Fuel on Sterling Road, just west of Florida’s Turnpike and $2.31 next door at Marathon.

Nearby stations along Stirling Road, North University Drive and Sheridan Street had also dropped below $2.40, according to GasBuddy.com.

The falling price trend hadn’t taken hold yet in Miami-Dade. The lowest price available there without a wholesale club membership was $2.45 at a smattering of stations throughout the county.