TALLAHASSEE – Florida cruised through the Labor Day weekend with gasoline prices in some places under $3 a gallon.
The AAA auto club said Florida drivers paid an average of $3.28 for a gallon of regular unleaded gas on Tuesday, up 3 cents from a week earlier.
Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, said in an online post that prices have peaked, as market prices of oil have been “slipping” and refineries will begin converting to the cheaper winter blend of gas on Sept. 15.
“The nearly nationwide switch to winter gasoline is less than 2 weeks away,” De Haan posted Sunday on the social media platform X.
The winter blend of gas is cheaper but slightly less energy-efficient than the summer blend. It has been shown to help with engine ignition during colder temperatures.
Moving from summer blend to winter blend usually can lead to drops in prices of 10 to 30 cents. Tuesday’s average gas price in Florida was 18 cents less than a month ago and 40 cents less than a year ago.
The state’s lowest averages were $2.95 a gallon in the Crestview-Fort Walton Beach area, $2.99 in the Pensacola area and $3 in the Panama City area, according to AAA. By contrast, the average price was $3.45 a gallon in the West Palm Beach-Boca Raton area.
The national average price Tuesday was $3.33 a gallon.
