Knoxville (WVLT) - You could soon pay *less at the pump.

Fuel analysts think oil prices may have peaked, but AAA says you'll likely have wait more than month to see gas prices drop significantly.

Volunteer TV's Mike McCarthy has the story.

We already noticed some stations around town, knocking a few cents off regular unleaded, but you'll still pay an average of $3.96 in Knoxville. It's the same across the state of Tennessee. Nationwide, the average dropped about a penny from Thursday. Oil closed below $129 dollars Friday. That's more than twenty bucks cheaper than last week. AAA says that could ease your pump pains.

"You've got to go where the cheapest gas is," driver Jason Parris said.

High gas prices have fueled Jason Parris with pump patience.

"I'm a frugal guy. I'll wait in line for an hour if I'm going to save a couple of cents," Parris said.

It's a ten minute wait to save ten cents at the Raceway on Western Avenue. Parris calls the station's $3.85 a gallon a bargain compared to Knoxville's current $3.96 average for regular unleaded.

"Someone's got to give and right now it's consumers," said Stephanie Milani from AAA.

ut crude oil's getting cheaper. A barrel of oil dropped more than 18 bucks this week. That's biggest one-week slide in more than three years, but it's cut only about a penny from the average nationwide pump price.

"I know as soon as they go up, it's on the pump, but when it goes down it takes like four or five days to even go down a few cents," driver Tammy Beachy said.

And AAA says you'll have to wait longer....

"It seems to be a scam you know," Beachy said.

....for a significant pump plummet. Oil bid on Friday, won't reach the pumps til August. So AAA says you'll have to wait six to eight weeks to see a drop at the pump.

"If the price of oil stays where it is, or it keeps going down, we will definitely see the price of gas come down, with the caveat, of that's what it's done in the past," Milani said.

AAA says how much your pump pains could ease is still a guess.

"Do you think we'll ever see two dollar gasoline ever again? We could. I don't know what it'd take," Milani said.

But weeks of record prices have put drivers optimism on empty.

"I'm not holding my breath," Beachy said.

"They still got to make money I guess," Parris said.

Some analysts warn you've got to remember, one week of oil prices isn't a trend. If oil prices bounce back, AAA says you'll probably see it almost immediately. That's because profits margins are already so stretched. AAA says Mother Nature could throw a kink in the possibility lower prices. We're in hurricane season. So any disruptions at refineries could decrease supply and increase prices.