ORLANDO, Fla. – The average price for a gallon of regular gas in Florida is now about 5 cents higher than the national average, and whether the gap between those figures grows or shrinks in coming days, the White House doesn’t expect the numbers themselves to fall very far any time soon.
According to auto club AAA, the averages came in Friday at $4.331 nationally and $4.378 in Florida, marking a fourth consecutive day the Sunshine State has broken its all-time record for gas prices. Earlier in the week, Florida Republican lawmakers agreed upon moving forward with a gas tax holiday, but it would begin no sooner than October — more than six months from now — due to views among the legislature that fewer out-of-state visitors would be able to take advantage of it.
[TRENDING: Become a News 6 Insider (it’s free!)]
With or without this form of short-term relief from Tallahassee, energy prices and inflation will continue to rise across the nation, according to comments made Thursday by White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki.
“We do anticipate that gas prices and energy prices will go up. That is something that the president has conveyed very clearly to the American public. We also believe it will be temporary and not long lasting,” Psaki said. “What our focus is on now is doing everything we can to mitigate and reduce those prices and ensure there isn’t a longer-term impact.”
Psaki said Biden has asked the Federal Trade Commission to closely monitor reports of potential price-gouging at the pump, but as far as just how “temporary” the White House is willing to label the situation at large, she said that Federal Reserve projections suggest inflation may continue waxing for months, exacerbated by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
“There is also no question that inflation may be higher for the next few months than it would have been without the Russia- without President Putin and Russia’s further invasion into Ukraine, particularly due to high energy prices,” Psaki said.
Use the interactive map below to see the latest average regular gas prices in Florida for most counties: