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Experts See $3 Gas By End Of Month

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By RUSSELL RAY | The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 9, 2008

TAMPA - It's been a while since motorists in the Tampa Bay area paid $3 for a gallon of gasoline. They may not have to wait much longer.

Industry observers say local pump prices could reach $3 a gallon by the end of this month.

"I think it's a possibility," AAA spokesman Gregg Laskoski said. "If we don't see it at the end of this month, we'll certainly see it in November."

Thursday, Tampa Bay area motorists were paying on average $3.46 for a gallon of regular unleaded, down from a high of $4.01 a gallon on July 16, according to AAA.

Laskoski and others say pump prices will continue to fall for several reasons:

•Crude oil prices have plunged 16 percent in one month to about $87 a barrel.

•Wholesale gasoline prices, an indication of where pump prices are headed, have dropped 21 percent during the same period to nearly $2 a gallon (excluding taxes) on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

•Fuel supplies are rising because refineries shut down last month by Hurricane Ike are now working at full capacity.

In the Tampa Bay area, the wholesale price of regular unleaded has dropped to about $2.33 a gallon (excluding taxes), said Pat Moricca, president of the Gasoline Retailers Association of Florida.

"I've never seen a drop like this before," Moricca said.

Reporter Russell Ray can be reached at (813) 259-7870 or rray2 tampatrib.com

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