Customers found something Monday at the Westfork Shell station in Pembroke Pines they hadn't seen in almost a year: gas below $3 a gallon.

Just weeks after fears of a fuel shortage and record-high oil prices caused the average gallon of regular gas to peak at $4.16 in South Florida, gas prices have dropped since mid-September and will continue to do so for at least the next few weeks, analysts said.

Prices dipped sharply Monday, shaving more than a quarter per gallon off the price of regular gas for Florida motorists compared to last week. An average gallon of unleaded was $3.30 in Florida, down from $3.61 a week ago. That's still well above the $2.80 Floridians paid last year at this time.

''I think we're in for more reduction in fuel prices,'' said Randy Bly, AAA Auto Club South spokesman. ``Whether we'll get to where we were a year ago, I'm not so sure.''

High gas prices sent ripples throughout the economy: People got rid of their gas-guzzling SUVs, they cut back on trips to the pump, and businesses passed along fuel surcharges to customers.

The national average Monday: $3.21 a gallon. Oklahoma City won the distinction of selling the country's least expensive gas at $2.30. In South Florida, the honor seemed to go to the Pembroke Pines station at 15801 Pines Blvd., where a gallon of regular unleaded cost $2.99.

''I like to be the cheapest guy in town,'' Westfork Shell owner Daniel Sims said as cars idled up to 20 minutes for a spot at one of his 16 pumps, where regular sold for $2.99 a gallon.

Experts attribute the price decline to lower crude oil costs and consumer spending.

Oil hit a high of $147 a barrel on July 17, the same week gas prices spiked throughout the country. Crude prices have fallen about 45 percent since then, to a 13-month low of $77 last week before closing Monday near $81 a barrel.

Demand is down, too, with crude-oil imports currently at 8.7 million barrels a day, down from 9.2 million a day last year. Members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries will meet next month to determine whether to cut production.

Meanwhile, the credit crunch and slumping economy have caused people to spend less at the pumps.

''When we hit that very painful threshold of $4 a gallon this summer, I think people jettisoned their SUVs for smaller cars and cut back on everything they buy, including gas,'' Bly said.

LIMITED DRIVING

Jose Gabriel said he limited his driving because of high gas prices this summer -- a restriction he plans to keep in place for now.

''You never know when prices may go up again,'' Gabriel said Monday as he pumped $3.49-a-gallon gas into his Toyota Camry at a Sweetwater Mobil station. ``I'd rather save my money for when they do.''

Businesses that rely on fuel also welcomed the falling prices. Carnival announced it was lifting its fuel surcharge at the end of the month for six cruise line brands, saving most customers a $9-a-day fee. If gas prices remain under $3.50 for another two weeks, Miami-Dade's taxicabs will end a fluctuating gas surcharge of $1 to $3 that has been in effect since June.

''We've really taken gas prices on the chin, so we're happy to see prices come down,'' said Keith Koenig, president of City Furniture. He said the firm usually has between 40 to 70 delivery trucks on the roads from Stuart to Cutler Bay and has been spending $100,000 a month on fuel, without passing on a surcharge to customers.

Independently owned gas stations struggled with the higher prices because it meant they had to pay more in credit-card transaction fees, said Jim Smith, chief executive and president of the Florida Petroleum Marketers and Convenience Store Association in Tallahassee.

''It was really a tough summer, but it's getting better,'' Smith said. ``We make more money when prices are lower.''

STATION'S FORMULA

It's the method Sims is using in Pembroke Pines, hoping customers will spend the money they save at the pump on cigarettes and sodas in his store.

''It's good for business,'' Sims said. ``The economy is down, people are hurting, so we hope we'll make it up somewhere else.''

In Miami Beach, where gas generally costs more than at mainland stations, people took advantage of the $3.29-a-gallon price for regular at the BP station on Fifth Street and Jefferson Avenue -- a bargain compared to the $3.89-a-gallon regular gas at the Shell station a block away.

Still, that wasn't enough of a break for Luz Martinez, who recently traded in her SUV for a Prius.

''It's a nice change,'' Martinez said. ``But at the end of the day, I'm still paying too much for gas.''

Miami Herald staff writers Micaela Hood, Tania Valdemoro, Rebecca Dellagloria, Carli Teproff, Jose Cassola and Martha Brannigan contributed to this report.

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