Florida gas prices climbed above $4 per gallon as higher crude oil prices pushed up costs at the pump, according to AAA.
The statewide average reached $4.14 per gallon Sunday, up 23 cents from a week earlier, 19 cents from a month ago and $1.18 from the same time last year.
AAA attributed the increase largely to a sharp rise in crude oil prices amid heightened tensions in the Middle East. U.S. crude prices have increased nearly 20 percent over the past two weeks, rising from about $83 per barrel to more than $100 per barrel. Crude oil accounts for more than half of the retail price of gasoline.
“Tensions in the Middle East intensified last week, causing oil prices to surge and increasing the cost of producing gasoline,” said Mark Jenkins, spokesman for AAA. “Florida drivers are now seeing those higher costs reflected at the pump. If oil prices remain elevated, motorists could face additional upward pressure on gas prices this week.”
Florida has also been experiencing a recurring price cycle in which pump prices rise early in the week before gradually declining through the weekend. Before the latest increase in oil prices, those cycles generally peaked around $3.99 per gallon.
AAA said the higher cost of crude has raised that ceiling and could push the statewide average as high as $4.19 per gallon if oil prices remain elevated.
West Palm Beach-Boca Raton had the highest metro average at $4.30, while Panama City and Pensacola had the lowest at $3.97.
