ORLANDO, Fla. – Florida drivers are still feeling the pinch at the pump, even as oil prices have dropped back to near pre-war levels.
AAA reports that the national gas average currently sits at $3.91, down from roughly $4.50 about a month ago, but still nearly a dollar higher than before the Iran war began.
Recommended Videos
In Florida, the average price per gallon is $3.83, a slight dip but not the relief many drivers had hoped for following the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.
For many Central Florida residents, every trip to the gas station adds up fast.
“It cost me about 100 to 120 bucks to fill my truck up,” Tony said.
“It’s a hybrid, so it’s a little better on fuel, but it’s still expensive. So, I feel for people that drive diesel trucks or older vehicles that aren’t so fuel efficient.”
Driver Anjali Vaya said the high costs are hitting her monthly budget hard.
“Just going to work and coming back, and just generally speaking, per month, it’s adding an extra 200 to $250,” Vaya said.
The financial strain even pushed Vaya to buy a more fuel-efficient car for the first time.
“[Gas prices] just terrible. In fact, I just got a hybrid car because of it’s adding up,” she said. “It was up for its renewal, and I just said to myself, I might as well go for a hybrid.”
Drivers had been hoping for steeper price drops as ships resumed passage through the Strait of Hormuz under the U.S.-Iran agreement. Brent crude now sits at $73 a barrel — close to the $70 it was before the war — yet pump prices have not followed suit.
AAA reports regular gas is now averaging $3.91 nationally, still nearly a dollar more than the pre-war price per gallon.
Vaya said she hopes things level off soon.
“I’m hoping that it stabilizes at the pump so that we can go back to having our budgets to what we would have financially budgeted ourselves for the year to go back to that versus seeing this increase,” she said.
The timing is less than ideal for the millions of Americans preparing to hit the road. AAA projects 61.4 million people will travel by car to celebrate the nation’s 250th birthday this Fourth of July.
President Trump has touted progress in the Strait of Hormuz, saying 19 million barrels flowed through the waterway on Monday. He also claimed on social media that oil companies are not passing lower prices on to consumers and called on the Department of Justice to investigate.