Oil's swift fall during the global financial crisis has translated into lower gasoline, diesel and home heating oil prices in the Oneonta area.
The average regular gasoline price in the city and town of Oneonta among nine stations surveyed Monday morning was $3.27. Prices peaked locally in July above $4.20 a gallon.
And while prices remain higher than a year ago, this decline may not be the end, said Robert Sinclair Jr., AAA New York's manager of media relations.
"We are thinking that $3 (gasoline) by Thanksgiving is not an impossibility; it might happen faster than that," Sinclair said. "The fundamentals, as they are called, certainly point to it falling further."
Home heating oil and diesel have seen a similar decline.
In mid-June, home heating oil was selling for a cash price of $4.49 a gallon at Reinhardt Home Heating in West Oneonta. On Monday, it was selling for $3.74 a gallon.
Lloyd Georgia, 79, of Delhi, was in Oneonta filling up his GMC Sonoma on Monday afternoon. He paid $3.27 per gallon of regular at the Oneonta Hess station on Main Street.
"I can remember when it was 16 cents a gallon," Georgia said.
Georgia said he's never seen the price of gasoline fall so far and so fast in his lifetime.
On Friday, the price of light, sweet crude fell to $77 per barrel _ its lowest in 13 months _ before rebounding to $81.19 on Monday.
The price per barrel peaked in July at $147 and began a steady decline before its most recent plunges during the financial turmoil of the last few weeks.
The recent fall in oil is due to fears of a worldwide recession that could cut demand, according to industry analysts.
The national average for regular gasoline Monday was $3.24 a gallon, according to the American Automobile Association.
The state average was $3.77 on Sept. 22; $3.69 on Sept. 29; and $3.60 on Oct. 6, according to the U.S. Department of Energy, which calculates this average weekly.
But according to the AAA Fuel Gauge Report, which is updated daily, the average price in the state Monday was $3.41.
With a local average of $3.27 on Monday, Oneonta is faring better than the Binghamton, Buffalo-Niagara Falls, Nassau-Suffolk, Rochester, Utica-Rome and Syracuse areas, where average prices ranged from $3.30 to $3.57 per gallon Monday, according to AAA.
But some outlying communities are still paying more for gas at their local stations.
It's 30 cents higher in Delhi, Georgia said. And at the Hamden General Store on Monday, the sign said $3.99.
The price of diesel fuel has also fallen in recent weeks with a statewide average nearing $4.10, down from highs in June above $5 a gallon.
But the trucking industry isn't getting any relief, said Bill Soto, a dispatcher for Target Transportation Systems in Oneonta.
"The economy, the way it's been, nothing is being shipped," Soto said.
Target Transportation Systems serves as a dispatching agent for owner-operator truck drivers who travel in the lower 48 states.
David Harder, president of Reinhardt Home Heating, said some people have held off on buying home heating oil after the record prices were reached.
"They are a little scared," Harder said. "I am hoping prices can continue to go down."
Normally, there is a price decrease in home heating oil in the summer as demand wanes, Harder said.
By the end of October, daytime temperatures are expected to be in the 40s and 50s with nighttime lows in the 20s, according to the Accuweather 15-day forecast.
Even though the fuel industry has seen record drops in prices in the recent weeks, customers are still paying more for gasoline, diesel and home heating oil than they were a year ago.
"That's still a painful level," Sinclair said.
Recent studies have shown that Americans' gasoline consumption has dropped 13 to 18 percent, Sinclair said.
Home heating oil was about $3.19 a gallon at this time last year and people were having a hard time paying for their heat, Harder said.
A year ago, the state average price for regular gasoline was $2.87.
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