TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — Florida’s average gas price shot up to $3.40 per gallon on Sunday, up 7 cents from last week and 23 cents from two weeks ago, AAA reports.
According to AAA, the price of fuel is on the rise due to OPEC’s decision to cut oil production by 2 million barrels a day.
The cost of fuel is largely tied to the price of crude oil, which settled at $85.61 per barrel on Friday, $7 per barrel (-8%) less than the week before, and close to where oil prices were four weeks ago, AAA noted.
“Drivers faced another round of rising gas prices last week, as retail prices at the pump continued to adjust to the big jump in oil prices which occurred more than a week ago,” said AAA spokesman Mark Jenkins. “The 17% oil price hike was largely in response to OPEC’s announcement that it would cut oil production by 2 million barrels per day in effort to raise oil prices.”
Florida’s gas tax holiday began this month to give drivers some relief at the pump, but the hikes have “effectively erased any discounts created by the state gas tax holiday,” Jenkins said.
According to AAA, drivers are paying $1.49 per gallon less than mid-June, when gasoline reached an all-time high of $4.89 per gallon. It now costs $51 to fill an average-sized 15-gallon tank.
On Sunday, the most expensive metro markets in Florida were West Palm Beach-Boca Raton ($3.55), Sebastian-Vero Beach ($3.43) and Naples ($3.43). The least expensive were Crestview-Fort Walton Beach ($3.20), Pensacola ($3.26) and Panama City ($3.30).
Right now, the average price of gas in Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater is $3.406 per gallon. In Bradenton-Sarasota-Venice, it’s $3.404 per gallon. In Lakeland-Winter Haven, it is $3.412. The average gas price in Sebring is $3.409.