Gas prices in Florida eased over the weekend, a sign of price cycling among competing gas stations, as the statewide average continues to waver under the $4 a gallon mark.
According to the auto club AAA, the average gallon of gas in Florida was $3.85 on Monday, from a low of $3.69 in rural Columbia County west of Jacksonville to $4.11 in Monroe County, which includes the Florida Keys. The statewide average is the same as a week earlier but had spiked to $3.96 a gallon on Wednesday.
Such swings typically indicate price cycling, where stations artificially lower prices against competitors and briefly hike the price to recoup lost income.
In a release Monday, AAA noted that gas prices in Florida remain “relatively stable, despite rising oil and gasoline futures.”
“The price of crude oil rose during the week, going from $84.50 to $87.06 per barrel. At the same time, gasoline futures increased from $3.27 to $3.35 per gallon,” the release stated. “Those gains typically put upward pressure on pump prices because fuel retailers pay more for the gasoline they purchase from suppliers.”
The national average for a gallon of unleaded gas was $4.10 on Monday. In South Florida, the price was $4.03 in Palm Beach County, $3.92 in Broward County and $3.89 in Miami-Dade County.
Diesel in Florida stood at $5.47 on Sunday, an increase of 10 cents from the prior week and an 18-cent increase over the past two weeks. A year ago, diesel in Florida averaged $3.54 a gallon.
Nationally, diesel averaged $5.61 a gallon Monday, $1.93 more than a year ago.
For motorists with electric vehicles, the average kilowatt hour cost at charging stations in Florida on Sunday rounded down to 41 cents, a rate mostly unchanged since early March.