Gainesville sees 21-cent gas hike

Gainesville area gas prices shot up another 21 cents over last week and 39 cents over the past two weeks, but the AAA reports relief could be on the way.

According to the weekly AAA release, the price per barrel of oil went up to nearly $80, which has led to the rapid increase in the cost at the pump. In Florida, prices went up 19 cents from last week to $3.84 and in Gainesville, the cost per gallon jumped to $3.87.

“Last month’s extreme heat played a role in the recent spike in gas prices due to some refineries pulling back, but now operations are getting back to normal,” said Andrew Gross, AAA spokesperson, in the press release. “Coupled with tepid demand and declining oil prices, this may help take the steam out of the tight supply price jolts we’ve seen lately.”

This week’s data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) showed gas demand decreased slightly from 8.94 to 8.84 million barrels per day (b/d) last week. Nationally, gasoline stocks increased by 1.5 million barrels of crude oil (bbl) to 219.1 million bbl. With the lower gas demand and the increasing supply, prices at the pump should slow in the next few days.

Thursday’s national average of $3.82 is 29 cents more than last month and 34 cents less than last year’s price of $4.16.

Florida has the 16^th most expensive price per gallon nationally after the increase from last week to $3.84. Last month, gas was $3.27 per gallon and last year at $3.88 statewide.  

In the Gainesville area, last month prices were at $3.30 per gallon and last year they were at $3.99.

According to gasbuddy.com, here are the lowest prices to fill up in Alachua County:   

• $3.49 at Raceway, 15330 NW US 301, Waldo
• $3.49 at Pilot, 17276 US 301, Waldo
• $3.59 at Circle K, 16070 Martin Luther King Blvd., Alachua
• $3.63 at Sunoco, 4207 NW 13^th St., Gainesville
• $3.65 at Sam’s Club, 4001 SW 30^th Pl., Gainesville
• $3.68 at Chevron, 401 N. Main St., High Springs
• $3.69 at Sunoco, 610 NE 1^st Ave., High Springs
• $3.69 at Mobil, 16091 Martin Luther King Blvd., Alachua
• $3.69 at Chevron, 1510 S. Main St., Gainesville

Quick Stats

Since last Thursday, these 10 states have seen the largest increases in their averages:  Nebraska (+25 cents), Iowa (+23 cents), Minnesota (+21 cents), Florida (+19 cents), Missouri (+18 cents), North Dakota (+18 cents), Oklahoma (+17 cents), South Dakota (+17 cents), New Mexico (+16 cents) and Alabama (+16 cents).

The nation’s top 10 least expensive markets: Mississippi ($3.32), Louisiana ($3.43), Alabama ($3.45), Kentucky ($3.46), Ohio ($3.46), Tennessee ($3.48), Texas ($3.49), Arkansas ($3.49), South Carolina ($3.53) and Oklahoma ($3.56).