Local News

Good Economic News: Gas Prices Falling Fast

PEMBROKE PINES (CBS4) ― Prices at the pump are plummeting. One Shell gas station in Pembroke Pines was selling gas for just over $3.00 a gallon Saturday night.

The only good economic news we've gotten in weeks is expected to get even better. In Fort Lauderdale Saturday, gas prices averaged $3.43 a gallon. That's down 20 cents in just one day. In Miami the same day, the average price of a gallon of unleaded gas was $3.47, down five cents from Friday.

Drivers just keep coming, flocking to the low prices and a chance to save some money. A long line of drivers stretched from the gas pumps at the Pembroke Pines station. Gary Cardenas couldn't help himself. "It's the lowest price I've seen so yeah, I figured I'd stop by."

Fluctuating prices at the pump aren't a rare sight for South Florida drivers. But there's good news from state economists: gas prices could go even lower as the price of oil drops. The owner of the Shell station estimates gas prices could go as low as $2.89 by Thanksgiving, though he's not sure how long it would last.

While that's good news, Cardenas says he'll stick to the conservative spending and driving habits he's adopting in the tightening economy. "I think I'll kind of stick with the driving habits I changed when it went up to almost, you know, five dollars," he told CBS4 Reporter Gwen Belton.

Meanwhile, signs of the tough economic times are popping up in some of the most unlikely of venues. Advertisements for free financial advice stand alongside food and car ads at the BankAtlantic Center. Panthers fan Mike Cohen thinks it's a good idea, "Sure, can't hurt, the way the economy is."

"Hockey draws some of the highest demographics of any sport out there," explained Howard Dvorkin, who works with Consolidated Credit Counseling. "But the fact of the matter is on the upper level, these are our clients. These are the people that are hurting. The people that can't afford a hundred dollar ticket down below, the people that can afford a ten dollar ticket, that's our target and we want to help those people."

And with the way things are going, Cohen says he can use all the help he can get. Lessons in economics and saving go further than a dollar these days. Motorists at the Pembroke Pines gas station got a lesson in patience Saturday, but most say it's worth it.

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