Florida gas prices hold steady as coronavirus surges

Residents line up gas cans as they wait for a truck to service an empty station in Loiza, Puerto Rico. Photo credit: Gerald Herbert.

Gasoline prices across Florida remained flat for the first time in several weeks in the past week.

Florida AAA Auto Club reports the average price for a gallon of gas held steady at $2.02 for the past seven days. The organization had projected gas prices would not increase much due to a resurgence in increased cases of coronavirus in the state.

AAA spokesperson Mark Jenkins had warned market watchers and investors were “beginning to worry” about gasoline prices stalling after several weeks of increases as Florida and other states began to reopen after closures due to the pandemic. But the easing of economic and other restrictions in May and June began to look premature as Florida and other states began to see record numbers of COVID-19 cases in the past week.

Still, Jenkins said the current average price for a gallon of gas remains significantly higher than May when it was 15 cents less. The current price for gas in Florida is also 26 cents higher than the lowest price for gas during the depths of the coronavirus outbreak.

Given that the per-gallon price is 42 cents less than a year ago, Jenkins said it’s likely that motorists will begin traveling more on Florida roads soon as they return to summer vacation patterns and gas prices will likely resume the increase normally seen this time of year.

“Drivers may see a slight uptick at the pump this week, due to a small increase in the wholesale price of gasoline,” Jenkins said Monday. “The increase in wholesale prices was likely driven by continued strength in demand for summertime gasoline. As a result, drivers could see an increase of a few pennies at the pump.”

The most expensive price for gasoline in Florida in the past week was in West Palm Beach at $2.13 per gallon on average. That was followed by Gainesville at $2.09 and Port St. Lucie at $2.05.

The cheapest gas in the state could be found in Punta Gorda at $1.98 per gallon followed by Fort Meyers at $1.99 and Jacksonville at $2.

The average price for a gallon of gas in Florida a year ago was $2.44.

Florida’s average price for a gallon of gas is still substantially below the national average which was $2.12 for the past week.