Florida gas prices hit new high for the year
TALLAHASSEE - Gas prices shot up across most of the state last week, as historic flooding in South Florida caused widespread gasoline outages. Fortunately, those outages have largely been resolved.
The average price for a gallon of regular jumped 15 cents. On Friday, the state average hit $3.72 per gallon, which was a new 2023 high and the most expensive daily average price since August 2022.
The problem began when flooding prevented fuel trucks from accessing the gasoline terminals at Port Everglades. This was a major problem since the port is a hub for the majority of gasoline for filling stations in Miami, Fort Lauderdale, and Palm Beach.
To offset the shortage, gasoline was brought in from other states and driven down from hubs in Tampa, Orlando, Port Canaveral, and Jacksonville. Gas prices rose double digits in these metro areas, likely due to having less supply than anticipated.
"There is reason to be optimistic that gas prices won't hang around these highs for long," said AAA spokesman Mark Jenkins. "Oil prices dropped to a 3-week low and gas prices began drifting lower through the weekend. There's hope that the upward pressure on pump prices will begin to ease as supplies stabilize around the state."
The most expensive markets to gas up last week were West Palm Beach-Boca Raton ($3.88), Port St. Lucie ($3.77), and Naples ($3.77).
The cheapest prices were in the panhandle - Crestview-Fort Walton Beach ($3.38), Pensacola ($3.39), Panama City ($3.40)