After weeks of getting some gradual relief from gas pains, drivers are seeing the prices at the pump move upward once again.
The change in the price trends comes days before the Labor Day weekend, when many Americans will take one last summer fling.
“Oil prices are up today, and that puts more pressure on gas prices,” AAA Auto Club spokesman Mark Jenkins told The Beacon. “If the $3 [increase in the price per barrel] holds, it would mean about a 10-cent increase [at the pump].”
U.S.-produced petroleum traded at $96 per barrel Monday, Aug. 29.
The average Florida-wide price of a gallon of self-serve unleaded regular gasoline is now $3.61. Last week, the statewide average price was $3.53.
“The average price for Labor day last year was $3.02 a gallon,” Jenkins noted.
Beginning about mid-September, some additional upward pressure on prices may come as oil refineries curtail their operations for maintenance and a switch from summer to winter fuel blends.
Motorists in the Sunshine State will get some relief in the cost of filling up their vehicles during October, when the state-imposed taxes on gasoline will be suspended. The Florida Legislature approved, and Gov. Ron DeSantis signed, a budget that includes the monthlong “tax holiday.”
Florida earlier this year stopped short of reaching the psychological barrier of $5 per gallon, as the statewide average at one point topped out at $4.89 per gallon.
