Florida gas prices have set a new 2021 high, according to AAA. The state average is now $3.01 per gallon, the most expensive daily average price since October 2014.  On average, Florida drivers are now paying 7 cents per gallon more than a week ago, and 15 cents less than this time last month. The state average is now 90 cents more than the same time last year, when prices plummeted due to low demand because of the pandemic.

Last year, during the pandemic, many fuel-producing countries reduced crude oil output due to plummeting demand. According to the EIA, the United States' production levels dropped a total of 24 percent from January 2020 to August 2020. Although U.S. production levels have bounced back from mid-2020 lows, they remain 15 percent below pre-pandemic levels. As a result of this shift in fundamentals, U.S. crude oil prices have soared from $47 per barrel in January to $75 per barrel last week. The last time crude prices exceeded $75 per barrel was a brief period in October 2018.