If you don't work from home, and you have a daily commute, it wasn't hard to miss that gas prices, after steadily falling for about two weeks, shot back up nearly 20 cents last Monday into Tuesday, before coming back down a few cents by the weekend.
According to AAA's weekly Florida gas price report released late Sunday, Florida gas prices rebounded from multi-week lows, jumping from $2.99 per gallon for regular unleaded on Monday to $3.18 by the middle of the week. From there, pump prices eased though the weekend, with the state average sliding to $3.15 per gallon on Sunday.
Statewide they jumped 16 cents over the seven-day period. They're up about five cents since a month ago, but down from $3.56 a gallon this time last year. Locally, the Osceola Count average is $3.13, AAA says, up a whopping 23 cents in a week, up from $3.10 a month ago, but down from $3.54 a year ago.
But, the question is, "WHY?!?" Here's a big part of your answer:
"Gas prices are facing renewed upward pressure, after crude oil and gasoline futures shot up late last week," said Mark Jenkins, spokesman, AAA - The Auto Club Group. "This could contribute to higher prices at the pump this week or next. How much higher remains to be seen."
The U.S. price of crude oil settled at $78.01 per barrel, Jenkins said, $4.60 per barrel more than the week before and the highest daily settlement since mid-November. The 5% gain over the past two weeks comes amid refinery issues and the ongoing conflict in the Red Sea. Last week, oil prices rose $2 after a fire at a Russian refinery, stoking global fuel supply concerns. The refinery reportedly supplies fuel for Turkey, China, Malaysia and Singapore. Later in the week, oil prices rose again after a British tanker was struck by a missile and set on fire in the Gulf of Aiden.
Want to see the AAA gas price data? Head to gasprices.aaa.com, and click on Florida, or wherever you're interested in the gas prices.
