TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — After weeks of steady declines, gasoline prices in Florida began to creep up last week after OPEC+ announced they would cut back on production.
The coalition announced that it would reduce its oil production by 2 million barrels a day. The decision was based on the “uncertainty that surrounds the global economic and oil market outlooks.”
According to AAA, the U.S. price of oil rose 17% last week to $92.64 per barrel on Friday. That’s $13 more than the week before.
On Sunday, Florida drivers were paying an average of $3.33 per gallon, a 16-cent increase from last Wednesday ( $3.17 per gallon), when prices were at a 2022 low, according to AAA.
“The jump at the pump came as a surprise, as this time a week ago, it appeared that the state’s gas tax holiday would pressure prices lower,” said Mark Jenkins, spokesman, AAA – The Auto Club Group. “However, things changed quickly after OPEC and its allies announced plans to cut oil production by 2 million barrels per day. This sent oil and gasoline futures prices back to 5-week highs. As a result, the price for retailers to purchase gasoline jumped more than 30 cents, erasing any of the downward progress created by the 25 cent sales tax holiday.”
On Sunday, the most expensive metro markets in Florida were West Palm Beach-Boca Raton ($3.50), Fort Lauderdale ($3.36) and Miami ($3.36). The least expensive were Crestview-Fort Walton Beach ($3.17), Pensacola ($3.18) and Panama City ($3.21)
Right now, the average price of gas in Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater is $3.317 per gallon. In Bradenton-Sarasota-Venice, it’s $3.276 per gallon. In Lakeland-Winter Haven, it is $3.329. The average gas price in Sebring is $3.325.