C.J. Gish
Gas prices have steadied in recent days following a historic two-week surge that witnessed fuel costs go from $3.56 per gallon to last Thursday’s record high of $4.35.
According to Monday’s AAA weekly report, with oil prices cresting above $123 per barrel shortly after Russia’s Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine, the price of crude oil has fallen below $110. If this trend continues, it may gradually remove the upward prices consumers have seen at the pump, but not all. The national average hit $4.33 per gallon on Friday before falling a penny throughout the weekend and Monday to $4.32.
Prices in Gainesville skyrocketed from $3.47 per gallon of regular unleaded on Feb. 7 to Thursday’s all-time high of $4.35, according to the AAA’s website.
On AAA’s website, Florida ranks 35th in the country with the average price per gallon at $4.34, and had the sixth-highest increase in the nation at 34 cents since last week and 84 cents since last month. The average price per gallon last year at this time statewide was $2.87.
According to GasBuddy.com, the cheapest prices in Alachua County are:
- $4.17 at Circle K, 19531 NW US 441, High Springs
- $4.19 at Love’s Travel Stop, 5615 SE US 301, Hawthorne
- $4.19 at The Short Stop, 2610 NE 39th Ave., Gainesville
- $4.19 at Circle K, 16070 Martin Luther King Blvd., Gainesville
- $4.19 at CITGO, 18501 NW County Road 236, High Springs
- $4.19 at Pilot, 17276 US 301, Waldo
- $4.19 at Raceway, 15330 NW US 301, Waldo
“It bears reminding that the cost of oil accounts for about 50 percent of what drivers pay at the pump,” said AAA spokesperson Andrew Gross in Monday’s press release. “This war is roiling an already tight global oil market and making it hard to determine if we are near a peak for pump prices, or if they keep grinding higher. It all depends on the direction of oil prices.”
Newest data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) indicated total domestic gasoline stocks declined by 1.4 million barrels of crude oil (bbl) to 244.6 million bbl last week while the gasoline demand rose from 8.74 million barrels per day (b/d) to 8.96 million b/d. AAA reports consumers should expect the current upward trend at the pump to continue if crude prices climb.
Quick Stats
The nation’s top 10 largest weekly increases: Utah (+51 cents), Arizona (+48 cents), California (+40 cents), Idaho (+40 cents), Nevada (+36 cents), Florida (+34 cents), Alaska (+33 cents), Georgia (+32 cents), New Mexico (+29 cents) and Washington (+29 cents).
The nation’s top 10 most expensive markets: California ($5.74), Nevada ($4.95), Hawaii ($4.95), Washington ($4.73), Oregon ($4.73), Alaska ($4.72), Arizona ($4.60), Illinois ($4.56), Washington, D.C. ($4.50) and Connecticut ($4.46).
