Thursday, May 17, 2001

Florida gas prices rise to record level Staff and wire report

Florida gasoline prices have risen to their highest level in the state's history, the American Automobile Association reported Wednesday.

The retail price of self-service regular unleaded gasoline rose 7.9 cents for an average price of $1.645 per gallon, AAA said in its monthly survey of fuel prices around the state.

In the Daytona Beach area, prices were even higher, averaging $1.67 a gallon, or 8 cents higher than a month ago.

The AAA also reported that mid-grade unleaded gasoline increased 8 cents per gallon to $1.75 per gallon, and unleaded premium climbed 8 cents to an average of $1.834 per gallon. Daytona Beach's premium is running a penny higher.

An association spokesman said the May pump prices may reflect a peak, not getting much higher through the summer.

"We believe that gas prices will begin to stabilize, perhaps fluctuating a few pennies a gallon over the next few months," said Kevin Bakewell, a vice president for AAA Auto Club South, based in Tampa. "The worst, we hope, may be over."

The lowest self-service regular gasoline noted in the survey was $1.557 in Port Richey. The highest was $1.742 in the Delray Beach-Boynton Beach area.

One station in the Delray-Boynton area was selling premium unleaded for $1.94 when AAA checked.

The last time gas prices were this high was in 1985, according to the American Petroleum Institute, when they averaged $1.99 a gallon for all grades nationwide.

The high gas prices may be starting to affect the way people choose their cars. "To be honest, we've seen people trading in their SUVs and minivans for smaller cars with better fuel economy," said Adam Griffith, a salesman at Saturn of Daytona. "It has been steady over the last month."

Staff Writers Jim Haug and Tony Briggs contributed to this Associated Press report.

http://www.news-journalonline.com/2001/May/17/AREA2.htm

-- Martin Thompson (mthom1927@aol.com), May 17, 2001

Answers

I guess it doesn't help when the big refinery in the Virgin Islands keeps exploding.

-- Guy Daley (guydaley1@netzero.net), May 17, 2001.

Prices were already that high before they did their monthly report.

-- awdragon (awdragon@yahoo.com), May 19, 2001.