Gasoline prices rise to nearly 2-year high

They may get worse after Texas outages

Gasoline prices have hit their highest level in almost two years, and they appear to be headed up again.

Prices in Florida rose 11 cents a gallon last week to an average of $2.72 for regular, the highest since May 2019. Nationally, prices rose by 5 cents, to $2.77.

Travel club AAA warned that another increase is possible this week, and one price-comparison website said prices could exceed a level that would have seemed “outlandish” to predict Jan. 1.

Prices were already on the upswing in February — largely due to optimism that COVID-19 vaccinations would spur a global economic recovery.

Then arctic weather settled into Texas for several days, triggering massive power outages that shut down crude oil refineries and caused gasoline supplies to decline. Those refineries are still coming back online, AAA said.

But other forces are keeping prices high, said AAA spokesman Mark Jenkins. They are:

„ ■ OPEC nations and their oil-producing allies plan to extend crude oil production cuts to prevent prices from declining.

„ ■ Missile strikes to Syrian oil refineries and loading docks could spark concerns by traders about further tightening of oil supplies.

▪ Gasoline refiners are beginning their annual switch to a more expensive summer blend that requires more EPA-required components.

▪ Steady increases in the numbers of COVID-19 vaccinations along with the promise of another round of stimulus checks have traders convinced that consumers will unleash pent-up demand for travel, sparking higher gasoline demand.

Since Jan. 1, gas prices have increased 53 cents. They hit $1.99 on Nov. 16 as a winter surge in the number of COVID-19 cases caused numerous states to reimpose restrictions. Since then, prices have climbed 37%, or 73 cents. Crude oil prices over the same period rose from about $40 to $65.

The current upward price trend began shortly after pharmaceutical companies in early November announced plans to begin shipping vaccines by the end of the year.

Jenkins said prices could rise by another 10 cents as early as Monday.

Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis for the gas-price comparison website GasBuddy. com, wrote in his blog on Monday that consumers shouldn’t expect prices to fall for a while.

“At the start of this year, it was somewhat outlandish to predict a $3 per gallon national average for the summer driving season,” De Haan wrote. “But thanks to the speed of recovery from the pandemic pushing demand higher and OPEC’s reluctance to raise oil production, we’re on the cusp of making that a reality.”

He suggested that consumers should shop for low prices in their areas and said he was hopeful that OPEC would reverse course on tightening supplies.

In the tricounty region, per-gallon average prices on Monday were $2.75 in Broward, $2.83 in Palm Beach and $2.73 in MiamiDade, according to AAA.

But as always in the region, consumers could find bargains if they knew where to look.

The lowest prices in the region, according to GasBuddy’s price map, were $2.35 at Sunoco, 329 N. Federal Highway, Pompano Beach; $2.45 at Chevron, 1350 Greenview Shores Blvd., Wellington; and $2.55 at Caraf Oil, 6151 NW 32nd Ave., Miami.