Energy

Gasoline Price Hits $5.99 in Florida

Douglas A. McIntyre

Published: May 16, 2016 11:45 am

Last Updated: January 13, 2020 8:00 am

It is only at one station, close to Orlando, where the price of an average gallon of regular is $2.13. In Lake Buena Vista, regular gas cost as high as $5.99 a gallon. That may seem high, but there other locations around the country where the price of gas is at or above $5 as well.

The station with the next highest price of gas is also in Orlando, at $5.95. Of the 50 places with the most expensive gas, 45 are in California, where the average price across the state has topped $3. Two other stations in Florida are in the top 50, as is one in the Manhattan section of New York City, according to GasBuddy.

South San Francisco and several areas around Los Angeles have gas prices above $3.99. As oil prices rise, all these should breach $4 on the upside.

There are several reasons for high gas prices. The first is, and always has been, oil prices. Those have risen from $30 a barrel early in the year (when people thought gas was headed toward $1) to $46 more recently. Goldman Sachs recently reported that supply would drive the price even higher.

Distance from huge refineries that produce gasoline is another factor in prices. Outweighing that in some states are taxes. Florida has the 7th highest gas tax at $0.5498 a gallon, according to the American Petroleum Institute. California is fifth at $0.5883. The average when all states are taken into account is $0.4804. The lowest state average is $0.3065.

$5 per gallon gas is unusual today. That is on the way to changing.