Gas prices in Florida are slowly declining after hitting their highest level this summer, according to AAA — The Auto Club Group.
Over the past two weeks, the state average for gasoline rose nearly 30 cents per gallon. Pump prices reached $3.67 per gallon Friday — the top daily average since mid-April and just 5 cents cheaper than the Sunshine State's peak price this year.
By Monday morning, the state's average price dropped an additional cent to $3.66 per gallon, 10 cents lower than the national average.
"Oil prices are the primary culprit behind the recent jump at the pump," AAA spokesperson Mark Jenkins said in a statement. "The U.S. price of oil rose 15% through the past five weeks, which raised the cost of producing oil."
The average price of oil settled Friday at $80.58 per barrel, a nearly $10 uptick from earlier this month.
Oil prices are rising due to a combination of an expected increase in fuel demand and record-breaking heat that caused some refinery outages along the Gulf Coast, reducing fuel output, according to the Oil Price Information Service.
Gulf Coast refinery operations last week were at about 93.3%, down 1.5 percentage points from the previous week and much lower than the 97% rate at which refineries operated last year, U.S. Energy Information Administration data shows.
Additional oil production cuts the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) instituted in early June are likely also contributing to motorists' fuel cost woes.
The most expensive market for motorists in Florida was the West Palm-Boca Raton area, where drivers and motorcyclists shelled out $3.80 per gallon on average. Naples ($3.72) and Port St. Lucie ($3.71) were second- and third-most expensive, respectively.
Meanwhile, motorists found the best bargains in Pensacola, where the average price at the pump was $3.46 per gallon, followed by Crestview-Fort Walton Beach ($3.52) and Panama City ($3.54).
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