At the gas pump, economic 'woahs'

FORT WALTON BEACH - The price of gas here fell below $2 per gallon Saturday after weeks of unprecedented decline, entering the season of traditionally lower pump prices.

But "it's hard to believe that's a sustainable rate," said AAA South fuel expert Gregg Laskoski. "What we saw in October was unparalleled ... We never saw a month when the fuel prices fell that much consistently."

Prices have plummeted since summer, when gas spiked at more than $4 per gallon.

On Sept. 11, gas cost $3.55 per gallon at one Fort Walton Beach filling station. A little more than a month later, the price was about $2.90.

On Saturday, some stations still were hovering at just above $2 per gallon while the Tom Thumb store on Martin Luther King Boulevard dropped to $1.99.

"We believe that fuel prices will continue to come down from now pretty much through the end of the year," said Laskoski, who also expects the dramatic drop to soften.

For drivers who paid more than $80 to fill a 20-gallon tank this summer, the drop below $2 per gallon would save at least $40 per fill-up.
A gradual drop would follow tradition, as consumers typically travel less in the fourth quarter than they do the rest of the year.

"Once you get past Labor Day, consumers are using less because they're not traveling as much," Laskoski said.

Even Christmas and Thanksgiving travel is no match for summer vacations.

Late-year price drops are also pushed along by the "winter blends" produced starting Oct. 1. A winter blend has fewer additives and is cheaper to produce than the summer blends sold between May and September.