Florida gas prices are once again declining after surging 32 cents during the past two weeks, AAA reported Monday.
According to AAA, the state average declined almost 2 cents per gallon over the weekend, but they expect the decline to continue.
Recommended Videos
“Gas prices soared in recent weeks, after winter storms caused temporary refinery outages,” said Mark Jenkins, Public Relations Manager for AAA - The Auto Club Group. “Last week, we saw fuel prices retreat again, as refinery activity ramped back up and the market turned bearish on global fuel demand, due to rising cases of COVID-19 in China. Retail prices could drop 10-20 cents in the coming weeks, unless oil prices suddenly rebound.”
AAA reported that Florida’s state average was $3.30 per gallon on Sunday – 10 cents more than this time last year.
For 2022, the state’s record high was set in June and was $4.89 per gallon. The 2022 low was set on Dec. 26 at $2.99 per gallon.
“Gas prices declined through the end of November and much of December,” a news release from AAA stated. “The state average dropped 59 cents per gallon, over the course of six weeks. The state average then rebounded 32 cents per gallon in the final days of 2022 and into 2023.”
According to AAA, about half the price of gasoline is set by the price of oil.
“Don’t expect significant discounts at the gas pump overnight,” Jenkins said. “Gas prices always rise like a rocket and fall like a feather. That’s because retailers often prefer to offload the more expensive gasoline first, then wait for their next delivery before lowering prices. So it could take a few weeks before retail prices fully adjust to the recent oil price drop. And that’s assuming that oil prices don’t change course between now and then.”
On Friday, the closing price for U.S. oil was $73.77 per barrel -- a 15% drop from the week before.
The most expensive metro markets in Florida are currently West Palm Beach-Boca Raton ($3.46), Sebastian-Vero Beach ($3.36), and Port St. Lucie ($3.34).
The least expensive metro markets are Panama City ($3.13), Crestview-Fort Walton Beach ($3.13), and Pensacola ($3.14).