JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Gas prices are at an all-time high on Friday for the fourth straight day.
The price of gas in Florida averaged $4.46 per gallon on Friday, AAA reported. That’s up 7 cents from Thursday.
According to AAA, the average price of a gallon of gas in Florida has increased 54% since this time last year.
As of Friday, the national average was $4.43 per gallon -- which means Florida has surpassed the national average by four cents.
In Jacksonville, the average for regular gas was $4.47 on Friday, while diesel came in at a whopping $5.63.
RELATED: Filling up with gas is costing drivers in Florida more than in Georgia
Phil Palmour told News4JAX that it now costs about $100 to fill up his SUV.
“Extremely high, but when it’s all said and done, I mean, you know, we got to get to where we want to go,” said Palmour, who was visiting Jacksonville from Tallahassee.
AAA reports the price of diesel fuel has risen 87% in Florida over the past year.
Truck driver Adonis Branch said his vehicle takes 300 gallons, so when he fills it up, it’s around $1,500. But he said it doesn’t affect his pay or work.
“I still got plenty of work,” he said.
But AAA spokesperson Mark Jenkins said it does affect consumer prices.
“With rising diesel prices, that raises the price of things like groceries and, you know, the cost of delivering things to your doorstep,” Jenkins said.
He said that demand for fuel was already high coming out of the pandemic and that it’s now even higher, with many countries considering boycotting Russian exports.
“I think that $4 gasoline is likely to be that unwelcome passenger for many summer road trips,” Jenkins said. “We’re likely to see these higher prices hang around for a while.”
Steve Duba, who lives in Fernandina Beach, said he’s trying not to make any extra trips.
“And I hope this does not go on and on and on,” he said. “I don’t think the American taxpayers deserve this.”
As for relief, Jenkins said, “Gas prices tend to rise like a rocket and fall like a feather.”
“We are producing a lot of oil, not as much as we were before the pandemic, but there is some hope that by the end of the year that we will return to pre-pandemic levels,” he said.
Jenkins said that’s when drivers could start to see some relief at the pump.
Some good news for Georgia though: The Peach State has the lowest average gas prices of any state in the nation as of Friday -- at about $3.95 a gallon.