Gas prices took a holiday plunge nationwide with Florida seeing a 10-cent drop per gallon and the Gainesville area down seven cents.

According to the AAA’s weekly report on Thursday, the Gainesville area price per gallon decreased from $3.20 last week to $3.13. Florida tied for fourth in the country with a 10-cent statewide drop from $3.17 to $3.07. Nationally, the average price dipped four cents from $3.24 to $3.20.

The AAA report stated, “The main reason is a weaker cost for oil, which is struggling to stay above $70 per barrel,” adding the price came a week after OPEC+ voluntarily cut production by nearly 2 million barrels daily.

“Historically, crude oil tends to drop nearly 30% from late September into early winter with gasoline prices trailing the play,” said Andrew Gross, AAA spokesperson. “More than half of all US fuel locations have gasoline below $3 per gallon. By the end of the year, the national average may dip that low as well.”

Data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) showed gas demand increased slightly from 8.21 to 8.47 million barrels per day (b/d) last week. Nationally, gasoline stocks increased by 5.4 barrels of crude oil (bbl) to 223.6 million bbl. Even with the low gas demand, the increased supply has pushed gas prices lower.

Thursday’s national average of $3.20 is 20 cents less than last month’s $3.40. Last year, the price was at $3.35.

Florida has the 24^th least expensive price per gallon nationally. Last month, gas was $3.20 per gallon and last year it was $3.23 statewide.  

In the Gainesville area, last month’s price was $3.32 per gallon and last year it was $3.48.

According to gasbuddy.com, here are the lowest prices to fill up in Alachua County:   

• $2.94 at Sam’s Club, 4001 SW 30^th Pl., Gainesville
• $2.99 at BP, 25295 NE US 301, Waldo
• $2.99 at Wawa, 2305 NW 13^th St., Gainesville
• $2.99 at Wawa, 4322 SW Archer Rd., Gainesville
• $2.99 at Shell, 13820 NW 140^th St., Alachua
• $2.99 at DBA SA Express, 5310 NW 13^th St., Gainesville
• $2.99 at Circle K, 5237 SW 20^th Ave., Gainesville
• $2.99 at Exxon, 3960 SW Archer Rd., Gainesville
• $2.99 at Circle K, 3901 SW Archer Rd., Gainesville

Quick Stats

Since last Thursday, these 10 states have seen the largest decreases in their averages: Colorado (−12 cents), Utah (−11 cents), Idaho (−11 cents), California (−10 cents), Florida (−10 cents), Indiana (−10 cents), New Mexico (−9 cents), Arizona (−8 cents), Kentucky (−8 cents) and Nevada (−8 cents).

The nation’s top 10 least expensive markets: Texas ($2.68), Mississippi ($2.72), Oklahoma ($2.74), Missouri ($2.75), Louisiana ($2.75), Arkansas ($2.78), Kansas ($2.83), Alabama ($2.84), Tennessee ($2.85) and Iowa ($2.87).