ORLANDO, Fla. – Hurricane Harvey is not making its way toward Florida, but the state could feel its impact in the form of higher gas prices.
Almost half of U.S. refining capacity rests on the U.S. Gulf Coast, and nearly one-third of that appears to be in Harvey's path, AAA officials said.
Recommended Videos
AAA spokesman Mark Jenkins said that could have a large impact on Florida drivers.
"Florida pumps are primarily supplied by gasoline that sails over from refineries in Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi. Prices were already climbing due to pre-existing refinery issues in the region," Jenkins said in a news release. "This storm could cause more refinery closures and prevent tankers from moving fuel in-and-out of Texas ports, which would cause gas prices to surge from 10-30 cents."
Some refineries are expected to shut down until the storm passes, possibly disrupting gasoline supplies.
Wholesale gasoline futures rose Thursday by 5 cents, or 3 percent, to $1.66 per gallon, and experts say that will quickly show up on service-station signs.
AAA officials said Floridians paid an average of $2.30 per gallon Thursday, which made for a 5-cent increase over three days. Prices could continue to climb throughout the weekend, AAA said.
Price jumps across the state this week include 10-cent increases in Orlando and Tampa, and 7 cents in the Fort Myers-Cape Coral area, the release said.
Patrick DeHaan, an analyst with GasBuddy, says Harvey could show up in retail prices as early as Thursday night. But he says he doesn't expect it will have as much impact as some past storms, such as Hurricane Katrina in 2005, which caused a 40-cent jump overnight.
In the Gulf of Mexico, oil and gas operators are evacuating workers from rigs.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.