TAMPA, Fla. — If you’ve been to the gas station lately, it’s not your imagination, prices have skyrocketed in just the last week.
According to AAA, one week ago, a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline in the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater area cost $2.78. As of Monday morning, gas prices in the area jumped 17 cents per gallon to $2.95.
The price hikes exist across all grades of unleaded gasoline with prices for midgrade jumping 16 cents to settle at $3.30 Monday morning. A gallon of premium unleaded went from $3.45 to $3.61 over the last week. The only type of gas not seeing a double-digit gain in the last week was diesel which rose just 7.5 cents a gallon.
The prices are approaching nearly a dollar more than the same time a year ago as demand surges in the summer months as Americans get back to traveling.
Statewide, gasoline has risen to $2.97 a gallon for regular unleaded with many places in South Florida already eclipsing $3.00 a gallon for regular unleaded gas. AAA reported the national average for a gallon of regular unleaded this morning was $3.08 a gallon. California has the highest gas prices in the nation at $4.23 a gallon while Louisiana is the cheapest at $2.72 a gallon.
