Florida drivers are seeing higher prices at the pump as global oil markets react to escalating tensions in the Middle East.
The state’s average price for gasoline spiked last week. By Sunday, the average reached $3.46 per gallon - - the most expensive daily average since August 2024. Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, said prices are expected to climb even further.
“It will likely start to accelerate again. Oil prices jumping significantly means that racks where gas stations send their tanker trucks will also likely start raising their price,” he said.
De Haan said the increases are tied to the conflict involving Iran. Iran recently closed the Strait of Hormuz following attacks by the United States and Israel. About 20% of the world’s oil supply moves through the strait on tankers from Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Qatar. If disruptions continue, De Haan warned diesel prices could climb sharply.
“That would put diesel on the trajectory to reach $5 a gallon. That is now looking like a very strong possibility,” he said. “Gas prices will likely continue or re-accelerate this week. I’m not yet foreseeing the national average hitting $4 a gallon, but that could happen depending on how the week unfolds.”
The price for a barrel of Brent crude, the international standard, was sitting at $82.90. That’s down 16.2% from its settlement price the day before, though much of that decline happened before the U.S. stock market finished trading on Monday. That’s why the drop did not give much of a boost to U.S. stocks Tuesday.
A barrel of benchmark U.S. crude was also shifting lower from where it was late Monday, at $80.34.
Oil prices plunged Monday afternoon from a high of nearly $120 per barrel, its most expensive level since 2022, after President Donald Trump told CBS News he thinks “the war is very complete, pretty much.” That raised hopes that the war may end sooner than later, which could allow oil to flow freely again from the Middle East to customers around the world.
But Trump’s comments later Monday, after the U.S. stock market finished trading, were not as clear. And a spokesperson for Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard said that “Iran will determine when the war ends.” Iran launched new attacks Tuesday at Israel and Gulf Arab countries, keeping pressure on the Middle East in a war started by Israel and the United States.
If oil prices do stay high for long, household budgets already stretched by high inflation could break under the pressure. Companies would see their own bills jump for fuel and to stock items on their store shelves or in their data warehouses. It all raises the possibility of a worst-case scenario for the global economy, “stagflation,” where growth stagnates and inflation remains high.
WGCU is your trusted source for news and information in Southwest Florida. We are a nonprofit public service, and your support is more critical than ever. Keep public media strong and donate now. Thank you. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
