Jesse Scheckner
Florida gas prices are 9 cents higher than they were a week ago, reaching $3.69 per gallon Monday due in large part to overseas supply manipulation.
Production cuts by OPEC and OPEC+ countries, particularly Saudi Arabia and Russia, have caused crude oil prices to strengthen through the past month.
By Friday, the U.S. price of oil closed at $90.77 per barrel — the highest daily price this year and the most expensive since early November 2022. The International Energy Agency warned the OPEC leaders’ voluntary production cuts would create a “significant supply shortfall.”
Mark Jenkins, spokesperson for AAA — The Auto Club Group, said in a statement, “Global fuel supplies continue to tighten, putting upward pressure on oil prices and subsequently, the price of gasoline.”
Monday’s average price of gas in the Sunshine State remains 16 cents cheaper than this year’s high of $3.85 per gallon. Florida drivers are paying $55 on average to fill an average-size tank, which is roughly $3 less than when gas prices were at their 2023 peak.
Once again, the costliest metropolitan market for motorists to fuel is the West Palm Beach-Boca Raton area of Palm Beach County, where pump prices average $3.84 per gallon, followed by Naples ($3.74) and Gainesville ($3.72).
The cheapest gas can be found in Panama City, where drivers and motorcyclists are paying $3.49 per gallon on average, followed by Pensacola and the Crestview-Fort Walton Beach area, where the price is $3.51 per gallon.
Gas in Florida is 19 cents lower than the national average of $3.88 Monday. Californians by far are paying the most per gallon, $5.69. Washington is the only other state where motorists are facing a per-gallon price point of $5 or more.
Mississippians enjoy the best per-gallon deal of $3.30, followed by Georgians, who are paying $3.38 per gallon on average.
