AAA: FL Gas Prices Up 11 Cents, Highest Since May 2019

Daytona Beach, FL - State gas prices continue to trend upwards as Florida’s average price of gas hits its highest level since May 2019. According to a recent report from AAA, the average price for gasoline has increased by about 26 cents since the middle of February, when deep freeze caused power outages to crude oil refineries in Texas and the surrounding Gulf Coast states. Reports also indicate that many of those refineries are still working to return to full operations. As of Monday morning (March 8th), Florida’s average price was $2.72 a gallon (regular unleaded). There’s also fears that prices could rise again soon, thanks to a number of reasons, including plans for OPEC and its allies to extend further production cuts. "Florida gas prices could rise again this week," said Mark Jenkins, spokesperson for AAA. "Crude oil prices surged last week after OPEC and its allies announced plans to extend production cuts beyond April. The move piles more upward pressure on pump prices that were already responding to power outages at petroleum plants in the US. It’s possible gas prices could rise another 10 cents as early as Monday." Lower domestic gasoline supplies caused by the power outages in Texas and geopolitical tensions in Syria have also been listed as contributing factors. A change in demand could also be to blame, especially since the demand for gasoline is higher now than it was a year ago when the United States began COVID-19 lockdowns. "If you remember this time last year you started hearing about the pandemic and people began to drive a lot less," added Jenkins. "Now things are starting to recover. Last week, the price of US crude oil reached a new 2021 high of $66.09 per barrel. Friday’s (March 5th) closing price was $4.59 a barrel, which is 7 percent more than the week before, and the highest daily settlement since April 2019. Locally, in Volusia County, the average gas price for the Daytona Beach area was hovering around $2.71 a gallon, which is nearly 11 cents more than last week’s average price. In Flagler, drivers are seeing average prices around $2.70, just a penny cheaper than Volusia and two cents less than the state’s reported average. Once again, the West Palm Beach-Boca Raton area was said to have the state’s highest average price of gas with $2.83 per gallon, while Punta Gorda reported the lowest average in the state with $2.67. The current national average is $2.77, five cents higher than Florida’s average and last week’s average.