Alex Delgado had been waiting for this day for months.
Gas prices dipped to dramatic lows on Monday, after slowly but steadily falling in recent weeks. And Delgado, for one, wasn't going to waste this golden opportunity.
Pulling up to the Pilot gas station in Jacksonville, Fla. -- where gas prices Monday were $2.69 a gallon for unleaded -- Delgado brought with him, not only his 25-gallon Chevy Silverado truck, but also his John Deere lawn mower and five gasoline jugs.
"Now that the prices are cheaper, I'm going to fill all these up and save them for when prices go back up," said Delgado, owner of First Class Lawn Care in Jacksonville, as he pointed to the empty plastic jugs. "We've been waiting for prices to go down. Who knows how long they'll stay there."
Across the aisle from Delgado, Frank Enis pumped gallon after gallon of gas into his Toyota Four Runner. A resident of Weeki Wachee, Fla., Enis was visiting the Golden Isles for a family reunion.
Filling up his tank in preparation for the five-hour trek home, Enis had expected to pay upwards of $70 or $75 to top off his tank. But, when the nozzle clicked to a stop, Enis was in for a pleasant surprise. Unlike when he left home last week, gas prices were now below the $3 mark, and his grand total was only $51.56.
"It's really good news that prices have fallen so much. Even from yesterday, prices have come down," said Enis.
Like Delgado, Enis admitted to being excited about the new, more affordable gas prices, but noted he was likewise apprehensive. Sure, prices are cheap now, but in such an unstable market, he wasn't banking on any long-term savings at the pump.
Maintaining this optimistic yet guarded attitude toward gas prices is the right way to look at the current situation, said Gregg Laskoski, public relations director for AAA Auto Club South.
Across the country, the national average for gas has dropped, coming in at $3.20 a gallon Monday.
That average was even lower than the day before, when the national average was $3.24 a gallon Sunday. In Georgia, the average price per gallon Monday was $3.32, which, too, was lower than Sunday's average of $3.41.
In the Golden Isles, prices ranged from a low of $2.63 per gallon at the Goasis to a high of $3.59 at a Mobil station.
The price for crude oil dipped to $81.74 a barrel Monday, a drop lower than anyone would have predicted in the past 12 months, Laskoski said.
"No one thought we would ever see crude oil priced below $100 again.
But we're seeing dramatic changes from one day to the next," Laskoski said of the drop in prices. "It's happening everywhere, and it's been happening for a couple weeks now. It's pretty remarkable."
The current lower fuel costs can be attributed to several factors, Laskoski said, with a slower economy topping the list.
Although crude oil had been a prime commodity for investors in the past year, the current faltering stock market and lulling economy have led to less speculative investment.
The U.S. dollar -- which is used as the base for setting crude oil prices -- was weak, meaning crude oil prices were high. Since July, though, the dollar has been gaining strength against the euro and crude oil is no longer the safe profit bet it once was, Laskoski said.
"Crude oil was a commodity that was a guarantee to enjoy the bull market," he said. "Oil is bought and sold with the U.S. dollar, and it was a prime commodity. As the dollar has gained ground, investments in crude oil are not such a guaranteed thing."
Supply and demand economics, too, have played a part in lower prices.
Historically, there is an increased demand for gas in summer months, when gas is less available and more expensive to produce, and a lesser demand in the autumn, when winter fuel blends are easier to produce and there are fewer travelers on roads.
These expected variations in seasonal buying patterns are playing out again this year, said Laskoski.
Though consumers shouldn't expect the major dips in fuel prices in recent days to continue for the long haul, prices should stay at current lows until at least the end of the year, with prices dropping by slight increments in coming weeks, Laskoski said.
When 2009 rolls around, prices could go back up, though no one, including Laskoski, can predict by how much, or when higher prices should strike.
Traditionally, March has been a month of gas prices inching up as labor-intensive and more expensive blends of spring fuel begin filtering into the market.
By May, higher prices are all but assured, when summer fuel blends -- the most expensive and hardest to produce -- start slushing through pumps.
Until then, though, Laskoski advises consumers not to change their gas-buying ways. There is no need to stockpile supplies or alter fuel budgets merely enjoy the saving while it lasts, he said.
"This drop is, unfortunately, probably just temporary. Don't do anything differently," Laskoski said.
"People are starting to buy more fuel-efficient cars, they are consolidating errands to save gas, and are taking better care of their cars.
Still do all of that, and know that going to the gas station will be a little less painful, at least for now."