SARASOTA (WSNN) – Gasoline prices are headed for their highest number in seven years, and now there is a little panic at the pump.
“Gasoline sales are up about two to three times more than what they would normally be,” AAA spokesperson Mark Jenkins said.
Different gas stations in Sarasota are showing prices from $2.69 to $2.90. AAA spokesperson Mark Jenkins says the average price in the state is about $2.88.
“That’s the highest price since March 21st when gas prices averaged about $2.91. People are definitely heading to the pump at a high rate,” Jenkins said.
And he says it’s not because of the cyberattack on the Georgia-based Colonial Pipeline
“Gasoline futures prices are holding pretty steady so far with the expectation that the Colonial Pipeline will restore operations by the end of the week,” Jenkins said.
Florida’s fuel isn’t supplied by the Colonial Pipeline.
“By and large, the gasoline that we get at our pumps comes from a ship that sails over from refineries in Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi,” Jenkins said.
The reason for the high prices?
“We’ve seen gas prices increase the past couple of weeks. That’s really driven by increases in gas linked to Crude Oil Futures,” Jenkins said. “Lot of speculators and buyers are really optimistic about how the economy looks based on some recent reports.”
If you do run across no gas at the pumps. Jenkins says it’s because of panic buying.
“What we’re seeing right now are conditions very similar to what we typically see before and after a hurricane….people are creating a supply problem because everyone is hitting the pumps at one time.
There’s a lot of gas demand as we move into the summer travel season. Jenkins says right now in Florida, AAA is forecasting more than two million to travel for Memorial Day, that’s about a 60-percent increase from last year.
