Jesse Scheckner
Gas prices in the Sunshine State rose 10 cents per gallon last week to the highest daily average since mid-May amid rising demands as motorists take to the road for summer trips.
Sunday’s state average was $3.46 per gallon, up from $3.36 per gallon June 5, when AAA — The Auto Club Group predicted pump prices may surge due to another round of oil production cuts by Saudi Arabia.
Oil prices sit at around $71 per barrel, $1 less than last week and around $14 cheaper than this year’s high. Prices declined last week too, despite efforts from Saudi Arabia and its OPEC partners to boost prices by extending production cuts that were set to expire this year. In Saudi Arabia’s case, that meant pledging to cut production of an additional 1 million barrels daily beginning in July.
Mark Jenkins, spokesperson for AAA, attributed the gas price increase in Florida and across the U.S. — which saw 4-cent uptick, week over week — to the “roaring start” of summer driving season.
“Gasoline demand figures from the past few weeks have been stronger than what we saw during this same time last year,” he said in a statement.
“That has contributed to volatility at the gas pump, which is perfectly normal this time of year. The good news for drivers is that oil prices remain low. As long as that’s the case, the state average should remain below this year’s high of $3.72 per gallon.”
The most expensive metro market in Florida was, once again, the West Palm Beach-Boca Raton area, where drivers paid $3.62 per gallon on average. Naples ($3.52 per gallon) and Port St. Lucie ($3.51) were next-priciest.
Florida areas with the most affordable gas included Crestview-Fort Walton Beach ($3.18), Pensacola ($3.22) and Panama City ($3.22).
Nationwide, Florida is in the middle of the pack in terms of gas prices.
Mississippi is the only state with gas cheaper than $3. Meanwhile, eight states — Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Nevada, Oregon, Utah and Washington — have pump prices between $4.03 and $4.90.
2 comments
Dont Say FLA
June 12, 2023 at 10:48 am
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis thinks he should be President of the USA but gas prices in Florida just keep going up while they remain constant or decreasing in the rest of USA and the rest of the world, too. Inflation is up in Florida, mostly due to unregulated insurance being required by law or contract, while inflation is down in the rest of the USA despite being up in the rest of the world like in Ron DeSantisland, Florida.
tom palmer
June 13, 2023 at 6:57 am
In Winter Haven the price rose 35 centsa gallong–from $3.14 to $3.49– in a single day. Do these people who issue these reports actually buy gas?
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