JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – After supply interruptions caused by storms and mechanical problems, gas prices are finally starting to nudge downward.
The national average price of a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline is $3.81, 5 cents less than last week.
AAA says the reason is as simple as demand is down and supply is up.
Florida's average of $3.76 fell 5 cents from last week. The average price in Jacksonville is $3.68. The lowest is at a Kwik Chek off Chaffee Road and Interstate 10 on the Westside, where the price is $3.56, and prices below $3.60 could be found at several stations around town.
The cheapest premium price in the River City is at an Owens gas station off St. Augustine Road and Morton Street. There, drivers will pay $3.83 a gallon.
Drivers are happy to hear the news prices are dropping.
"That sounds great," Arnold McBride said. "I hope they continue to go down. I hope they go down a little quicker."
"I do a lot of family runs and I live on the other side of town, so it is very beneficial to me and I'm glad to see it," Lynn Blair said.
Oil prices are settled below $93 for the first time since Aug. 10. U.S. inventories of crude oil spiked by 8.5 million barrels last week and made the largest gain since March. Reports also show domestic fuel demand in August dropped to its lowest level in 15 years, according to the American Petroleum Institute.
A barrel of oil closed Friday on the New York Mercantile Exchange at $92.89, that's $6.11 less than the week prior.
Drivers may be wondering what took so long after being told prices were supposed to drop immediately after Labor Day. AAA says there's a reason they didn't.
"It's because of the hurricane that came through," AAA spokesman Bill Bishop said. "It shut down the oil platforms and refineries. We knew it wouldn't go down immediately."
AAA says it's too early to predict how long prices will continue to drop.