Montgomery's Gas Prices Fall, First Nationwide Drop of 2012

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By Heather VacLav

Story Created: Apr 22, 2012 at 10:43 PM CDT

Story Updated: Apr 23, 2012 at 12:24 AM CDT

Gas prices are dropping for the first time this year, according to a nationwide gas survey. After hovering near $4.00 in many places across the country, the Lundberg Survey says gas prices have dropped about six cents in just two weeks. GasBuddy.com shows Alabama's average gas prices at $3.72, but drivers fueling up in Montgomery don't think the city's prices are low enough.

“It's killing my pockets, its hurting, but I gotta do what I gotta do, still gotta drive around here,” Jason Brinkley of Montgomery said while filling up his SUV at the Raceway gas station on Eastern Blvd. Sunday afternoon. 

AAA says nationwide it costs Americans about $3.86 a gallon to fill up, but here in Montgomery, GasBuddy.com, shows prices topping at $3.99 at the Cloverdale Service Center, and dropping to $3.56 cents at Entec on the Wetumka Highway. 

“It needs to go down more, it needs to go down as far as it can go,” Darryl Tanner said. Tanner stopped in Montgomery to fill his gas tank on the way back home with his family to Georgia.  

Many drivers say even though the price of gas is slowly dropping, they still can’t afford to fill their tanks to full capacity with gas. 

“I never fill up, I just put a few dollars in here,” Brinkley said. 

Robert Brown, also of Montgomery, was riding with Brinkley to the gas station. “I remember when you could use $10 and be good for at least a couple of days, but now $10 isn't going to get you nowhere but to the crib and that's it.” 

Local economics analysts say prices are going down because internationally, crude oil prices dropped, so the more stability around the world, the less chance gas prices will spike. 

David Vieira, of New Jersey, was passing through Montgomery from vacationing in Florida. “Filling up is kind of brutal, you budget around your gas,” Vieira said. “I drive a Ford Excursion and its diesel, so filling that thing up usually costs about $160.” 

As we enter peak driving season, analysts say gas prices could stay stable as long as crude oil does the same. But locals say all they want is for gas to be affordable again. 

“When you got a truck like this, it’s hard to even have a budget,” Brown said. “I mean $50 doesn’t do nothing for this tank… between [Brinkley] driving, me driving and momma driving the truck, it's crazy.” 

If the gas prices continue to decline, some analysts predict gas could cost less than it ever did last year, by the end of this month. 

Just to put Montgomery's prices into perspective, some other U.S. city gas prices include: Atlanta at $3.79, Boston at $3.95, and San Francisco with $4.21. 

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