Florida gas prices rise 4 cents ahead of Thanksgiving

Fuel prices increased last week after another round of COVID-19 vaccine news. News reports promoting the efficacy of these vaccines have spurred optimism within the fuel market that fuel demand will look much better than it did in 2020.

U.S. crude oil rose 5 percent last week, finishing above $42 a barrel for the first time since September 1. Wholesale gasoline prices rose a few pennies too, but settled at a level that would suggest a retail price of around $2.00 per gallon, across the state.

Florida’s average price for gasoline increased 4 cents last week. Drivers are paying an average price of $2.03 per gallon. Sunday’s state average is 7 cents less than a month ago, and 34 cents less than this time last year.

“Drivers are likely to find the lowest Thanksgiving gas prices in 12 years,” said Mark Jenkins, spokesman, AAA – The Auto Club Group. “Gas prices are inching higher, due to vaccine news, but reports of rising cases of coronavirus should prevent any significant gains at the pump.”

Thanksgiving Travel

Earlier this month, AAA released its Thanksgiving Travel Forecast, anticipating a 10% decline in travel this Thanksgiving compared to last year’s holiday. According to the report, 50.6 million Americans will take a road trip. More than 2.6 million of those would be Floridians. However, it’s possible even fewer people will travel this Thanksgiving. Since the forecast was developed, new cases of COVID-19 have increased and the CDC urged Americans to stay home for the holiday.

“AAA urges those who decide to travel to do so safely,” Jenkins said. “Wear a mask, bring cleaning supplies, and do your research before leaving to understand if there are any travel restrictions or closures along your route or at your destination.”

Visit AAA’s COVID-19 Travel Restrictions Map for the latest state and local travel restrictions. Use TripTik.AAA.com to plan your road trip and help determine which rest stops, gas stations, restaurants and hotels are open along your route.

Regional Prices

• Most expensive metro markets – West Palm Beach – Boca Raton ($2.16), Pensacola ($2.09), Panama City ($2.08)
• Least expensive metro markets – Punta Gorda ($1.95), Jacksonville ($1.98), Fort Myers – Cape Coral ($1.98)

Find Florida Gas Prices

• Daily gas price averages can be found at Gasprices.aaa.com
• State and metro averages can be found here

 Gas Price Survey MethodologyAAA updates fuel price averages daily at www.GasPrices.AAA.com. Every day up to 130,000 stations are surveyed based on credit card swipes and direct feeds in cooperation with the Oil Price Information Service (OPIS) and Wright Express for unmatched statistical reliability. All average retail prices in this report are for a gallon of regular, unleaded gasoline.

Here are the 10 lowest gas prices in Alachua County, and the lowest in other Alachua towns, according to gasbuddy.com: 

1. BP 5310 NW 13th Street Gainesville $1.89
2. Murphy Express 6323 NW 13th Street Gainesville $1.89
3. The Short Stop 2610 NE 39th Avenue Gainesville $1.92
4. Sam’s Club 4400 SW 33rd Place Gainesville $1.92
5. Love’s 5615 SE US 301 Hawthorne $1.94
6. Sunoco 528 NW 8th Avenue Gainesville $1.94
7. Marathon 3936 West Newberry Rd. Gainesville $1.94
8. Mobil 7404 NE Waldo Road Gainesville $1.95
9. Mobil 5708 NW 34th Street Gainesville $1.95
10. Marathon 9600 Martin Luther King Highway Gainesville $1.95

Lowest in other Alachua County towns:

• Alachua: Marathon 9600 Martin Luther King Blvd. $1.95
• Alachua: Sunoco 11921 Martin Luther King Boulevard $1.95
• Archer: Shell 12771 SW FL-45 $2.09
• Archer: Mobil 13475 SW FL-45 $2.09
• Hawthorne Love’s 5615 SE US-301 $1.94
• Hawthorne Texaco 6850 SE US 301 $1.96
• High Springs: Pure 405 NE 1st Street $1.98
• High Springs: Shell 905 South Main Street $1.99
• Melrose: Shell 2652 FL-21 $1.96
• Melrose Melrose Food Mart 1647 FL-100 $1.99
• Micanopy Marathon 106 NE US-441 $2.12
• Micanopy Sunoco 101 NW US-441 $2.12
• Newberry: Marathon 24252 West Newberry Road $2.04
• Newberry Circle K 45 SW 250th Street $2.09
• Waldo: Raceway 15330 NW US-301 $1.95
• Waldo: Pilot 17276 US-301 $2.04

Lowest in other counties:

• Bradford: Murphy USA 14550 US 301 South Starke $1.92
• Bradford: S&M Discount Beverage 401 W. Brownlee St. Starke $1.93
• Clay: BJ’s 560 Blanding Boulevard Orange Park $1.79
• Clay: Flash Foods 2540 Blanding Blvd. Middleburg $1.87
• Clay in Keystone Heights: BP SE 63 Street $2.17
• Columbia: Inland 2398 SE Baya Drive Lake City $1.83
• Columbia: Murphy Express 2659 W US-90 Lake City $1.87
• Dixie: Texaco 27764 US-19 Fanning Springs $1.99
• Dixie: Casey’s Cove 4735 SW CR-358 Steinhatchee $2.02
• Gilchrist: Inland 929 South Main Street Bell $1.93
• Gilchrist: Inland 1209 Wade Street Trenton $1.97
• Lafayette: Jiffy Food Store 203 East Main Street Mayo $2.08
• Lafayette: Mayo Food Mart 133 West Main Street Mayo $2.09
• Levy in Chiefland: Murphy Express 2126 North Young Blvd. $1.96
• Levy in Williston: Chevron 1199 SW 7th Street $1.99
• Levy in Bronson: Marathon 135 North Hathaway Avenue $2.18
• Marion in Ocala: Sam’s Club 3921 SW College Road $1.86
• Marion in Dunnellon: 10211 S US-41 $1.86
• Marion in Belleview: 11990 SE CR-484 $1.94
• Marion in Summerfield Murphy USA 17840 SE 109th Terr. Road $1.85
• Marion in Silver Springs Shores Marathon 9433 SE Maricamp Rd. $1.89
• Suwannee: Murphy USA 7000 US-129 Live Oak $1.93
• Suwannee: Shell 6674 US-129 Live Oak $1.99
• Union County: Shell 585 SW 6th Street Lake Butler $1.99
• Union County: Exxon 1200 East Main Street Lake Butler $1.99