A surge in oil prices are showing up as higher prices at Florida gas pumps with the average price of a gallon of regular unleaded up 9 cents over last week.
The average price for a gallon of regular unleaded gas in Florida is $3.68 a gallon, up from $3.59 a week earlier, while drivers in Osceola County are paying a penny less at $3.67. Both are less than than the national average of $3.88 per gallon, according to the AAA auto club.
Rising oil prices, primarily driven by production reductions by Saudi Arabia and fellow OPEC nations, counteracted the usual trend of price decline in mid-September. This decline typically occurs as demand subsides and retailers transition from summer to winter gasoline blends.
“Oil costs are putting upward pressure on pump prices, but the rise is tempered by much lower demand,” AAA spokesman Andrew Gross said in a prepared statement.
The decrease in people refueling their vehicles is a common occurrence as schools resume, daylight hours shorten, and the weather begins to change from summer temps nationally.
Typically, gasoline prices decrease with the lower fuel demand, but elevated oil prices have offset the lower demand, causing the increase of prices at the pump.
