Gas prices in Florida were up an average of 24 cents in the past week, cruising past the $4 mark as the conflict in Iran continued to rattle global oil markets.
The average gallon of gas was $4.19 in Florida on Monday, according to the auto club AAA, $1.30 more than on Feb. 28 when the U.S. and Israel began attacks inside Iran.
In Palm Coast on Tuesday, gas was is selling at no less than 4.17–at Wawa on Palm Coast Parkway, for instance–and more often at above $4.20.
GasBuddy forecast further increases this week, with the biggest jolts in the Plains, Great Lakes, and parts of the Rockies. But on Tuesday, as President Trump was ramping up warnings to Iran of wiping out “whole civilizations” if Iran did not open the Strait of Hormuz by 8 p.m. Eastern time, the price of Brent Crude, the international benchmark for the price of oil, fell sharply on the international market during the day, from $112 a barrel to $105. West Texas crude, the American benchmark, spiked to nearly $118 a barrel before falling to $105 by late afternoon. Before the war, it was trading at roughly $60 a barrel.
Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, said in the “Over A Barrel” podcast on Sunday summer discretionary spending is already part of families’ budget decisions.
“People still want to travel. They’re just going to cut additional spending elsewhere,” De Haan said. “They’ll stay at a cheaper hotel. They won’t go out to eat. They might not do Putt-Putt or movies. So, I don’t think people are going to give up on those choices yet. But the longer this goes and the more prices go up, people are going to make those tough decisions, and that is what most people will remember when they go to the polls in November.”
Averages in Florida ranged from $3.90 a gallon in Escambia County at western end of the Panhandle to $4.48 a gallon in Monroe County at the southern end of the Peninsula.
The average was $4.23 a gallon in Orange County and $4.21 in Duval County.
Nationally, the average was $4.12 on Monday, 13 cents higher than a week earlier and $1.14 more than on Feb. 28.
Diesel in Florida was at $5.81 a gallon on Monday, 19 cents higher than a week earlier and $1.35 higher than a month ago.
The national average for diesel was at $5.62 on Monday.
For electric vehicles, the cost per kilowatt-hour at Florida charging stations rounded to 41 cents this past week. The price was 39 cents on Feb. 28. Nationally, the average rounds to 42 cents. The average was 39 cents on Feb. 28.’
–News Service of Florida
JimboXYZ says
Several filling stations have been at $ 4.299 over the past few weeks for 87 octane. Ask me how I know ?
Laurel says
So, we’re just supposed to wait and see what happens, right?
TACO event says
It should be called the straight of hormuzie. Kimmel got that one, not me!