MIAMI – Gas prices in Florida increased 4 cents last week and prices are expected to continue to climb amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine, AAA reported Monday.
According to a AAA news release, crude oil prices surged in overnight trading as Russia is the third-largest oil producing country in the world, and “the crude oil market was already tight before this conflict began.”
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“Last week, oil prices spiked when Russia invaded Ukraine. However, prices quickly retreated to previous levels after President Biden announced sanctions that didn’t specifically target Russian oil,” the news release stated. “Unfortunately, oil prices quickly shot up Sunday night, when international trading began. At the time of this writing, the U.S. price of oil was trading above $96 per barrel - an increase of nearly $5/b (5%) from Friday’s closing price of $91.59.”
According to the news release, multiple factors are causing the price of oil to rise, including the removal of Russian banks from SWIFT, which has made it more difficult for other countries to purchase Russian oil and gas.
“Unless oil prices reverse course, the pain at the pump is about to get even worse for Floridians,” said Mark Jenkins, spokesman, AAA - The Auto Club Group. “There has been a lot of speculation about oil prices, and the high seems like a moving target. If oil lands at $95 a barrel for a sustained period of time, drivers could expect to see a 15 cent jump at the pump. If U.S. oil reaches $100 a barrel, the total increase would be more like 25-30 cents per gallon.”
So far this year, oil prices have increased about $20 per barrel.
“At $96 per barrel, the US price for oil is up nearly $50 (100%) since the beginning of 2021,” the news release stated.
The busy spring and summer driving seasons are around the corner and are also expected to drive up gas prices due to the high demand.
AAA reports that summer gasoline is also more expensive to produce and that refineries are currently conducting seasonal maintenance, which can reduce production levels.
There was also an explosion at a Louisiana refinery just last week.
Floridians are currently paying an average price of $3.52 per gallon – the most expensive daily average since July 2014.
The most expensive metro markets are currently West Palm Beach-Boca Raton ($3.66), Gainesville ($3.55) and Fort Lauderdale ($3.55).