TAMPA, Fla. — Oil prices dropped below $100 a barrel for the first time since Feb. 25, to settle Friday at $97.18 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange — $16.75 less than last week.

The announcement of Osama bin Laden’s death immediately caused oil prices to drop $10 a barrel at the start of the week on speculation his death could ease some of the turmoil in the Middle East.

On May 4, the Energy Department reported U.S. stockpiles of crude oil grew more than 3.4 million barrels the week prior and pushed stockpiles to a six-month high of 367 million barrels.

The large gain in supply could not be ignored and was taken as a sign the increased fuel prices were hurting the economic recovery. In addition, the U.S. dollar advanced against foreign currencies and helped push oil prices even lower.

“The oil market moved in favor of consumers this week and actually responded to the basic fundamentals of supply and demand,” said Jessica Brady, spokesperson, AAA Auto Club South. “Despite the sharp decline in oil prices, gas prices will be slow to drop early in the week, but if the dollar maintains its value, keeping the price of oil below $100, by the end of the week consumers could start to see a more significant reduction in pump prices.”                                 

The national average price of unleaded regular gasoline is $3.96, 2 cents more than last week.

Florida’s average price is $3.92 per gallon, 4 cents more than last week.

While Georgia’s average price of $3.88 is 6 cents more than last week, and Tennessee’s average price of $3.77increased 2 cents from last week, respectively.

AAA’s Daily Fuel Gauge Report is updated each day and reflects actual prices from credit card transactions within the past 24 hours at two-thirds (100,000) gasoline stations in the U.S. Its accuracy is unparalleled.