Drew Dixon
The average price for a gallon of gasoline in Florida surged past the $2 mark for the first time in three months last week.
Florida AAA Auto Club reports the average price for a gallon of gas in the Sunshine State was $2.02 per gallon for the second week of June. That’s about 12 cents more than the first week of June.
The state’s automobile club has advised that gas would soon exceed $2 per gallon on average because of people returning to the road and to work as fears of coronavirus began to ease. But a resurgence in the spread of the illness may cause a pause in increased fuel prices.
“The recent upward momentum in pump prices is beginning to stall amid renewed concerns regarding the coronavirus,” said Mark Jenkins, AAA spokesperson. “Market-watchers are beginning to worry that elevated cases of COVID-19 in Florida and some other states could result in another drop in gasoline demand. For now, gas prices should hold steady this week with the possibility of a slight decline.”
While June fuel prices have been increasing, they’re still way off from a year ago when there was no pandemic. The average price for a gallon of gas in Florida this time a year ago was $2.52 per gallon.
Still, the cost of gas has been steadily increasing in the rebound from coronavirus. The average price for a gallon of gas was a $1.76 in the second week of May.
The price of gas in Florida is still lower than the national average price per gallon. Across the U.S., the average price for gas was about $2.10 per gallon in the past week.
The highest price for a gallon of gas in Florida was recorded in West Palm Beach at $2.12 per gallon in the past week. Pensacola had the lowest price at $1.97.
Another factor slowing the increase in fuel costs is the price of crude oil hasn’t increased as much as projected a week ago. OPEC nations had agreed to decrease production of oil, but the price per barrel still decreased. U.S. crude oil declined in price dropping 8% last week, falling to $36.26 per barrel, a drop by $3.29.
