FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. (WSVN) – South Floridians are reacting to increased prices at the pump, as the cost of gas continues to rise across the country as the conflict in the Middle East rages on.<\/p>\n
In Fort Lauderdale, one particular station has seen prices rise about 70 cents a gallon in just the last 15 days.<\/p>\n
Customer Ryan Pratt spoke with 7News on Thursday.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s insane. I was at a light last night, and I saw $4.29 a gallon. I thought, \u2018Man, I\u2019m paying more for gas than I am milk, so it\u2019s up there, man,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
These increases are something everyone around the country has felt.<\/p>\n
Milosh Miletic, who runs a food truck business in Fort Lauderdale, said he\u2019s bracing for higher costs.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re still waiting to see how it\u2019s gonna go \u2019cause we do probably, like, pay month-to-month \u2019cause we\u2019re still in a month before when the war didn\u2019t start. I\u2019m pretty sure it\u2019s gonna affect us a lot,\u201d said Miletic.<\/p>\n
Miletic said business wasn\u2019t always consistent, even before the war began.<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, you know, it\u2019s a roller coaster,\u201d said Miletic.<\/p>\n
According to AAA, nationwide the average jump is around 92 cents a gallon in the last month. It\u2019s even worse for diesel, with an about $1.33 jump.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey are horrendous. Even though we have a gas card for the company and everything like this, I just think that the gas prices are way too high, especially in California and other places like that,\u201d said Robert Williams. \u201cFor the average person really trying to get out here and get it, I mean, some things we got to cut back on, because the gas is too high.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMy gas prices have doubled in the past two weeks,\u201d said Pratt.<\/p>\n
Experts say the problem is not a shortage as there is plenty of gas, but much of it is stuck at the Strait of Hormuz, which separates the Persian Gulf from the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea and points beyond that.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve only begun to see the effects of the war. The Strait of Hormuz is basically closed,\u201d said Dr. Craig Austin with Florida International University\u2019s Department of Marketing and Logistics.<\/p>\n
Twenty percent of the world\u2019s oil flows through the strait. Because of the war in the Middle East, it is now at a standstill.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are over 600 ships in the Strait of Hormuz who are not moving, and so, it would take months to clear that,\u201d said Austin.<\/p>\n
While the United States is a net exporter, which means there is a lot of oil domestically, economists say that because everything is interconnected across the globe, there is a worldwide price for oil and everything is tied to that, so they believe prices will likely go higher before they start to lower.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is too much fear, too much uncertainty in the market for gases to come down, the volatility of the price is all due to the uncertainty,\u201d said Austin.<\/p>\n
That level of uncertainty presents major concerns for businesses like Miletic. In his case, he\u2019s fortunate to operate at a location where he can connect his food truck to an electrical hookup at a food truck lot on State Road 84 and 595, bypassing some of the need for fuel.<\/p>\n
Despite that advantage, he acknowledged that the cost of simply doing day-to-day business doesn\u2019t appear to be going down anytime soon.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery day that the, let\u2019s say, war lasts longer, I\u2019m less optimistic. The thing with us Serbians is \u2019cause we, back in \u201990s, survived like three wars, war humbles you in a way that you realize that you\u2019re running a business day-to-day, you know, planning things and that\u2019s something like that happens, and everything changes,\u201d said Miletic.<\/p>\n
Experts say finding ways to overcome uncertainty is one of the largest hurdles business owners will face.<\/p>\n
Austin added that even if the war with Iran were to immediately come to an end, it would still take several months to allow the hundreds of tankers stuck waiting around the Strait of Hormuz to begin flowing at a normal pace, which would allow for global prices to readjust.<\/p>\n
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