You may have noticed gas prices have gone up in Southwest Florida. Many drivers were surprised to see gas jump about 15 cents per gallon Thursday.
"The price variation is considerable in a short period of time," said driver James Furtado. "I belong to a gas station down the road, BJ's, and there's a Citgo here. BJ's is $1.61 a gallon. Two miles down the road, it's $1.79."
Marsha Kut, a spokeswoman for AAA, said that while fuel supply is at an all-time high, periodic maintenance on refineries can stem that supply.
"A little bit less of a supply, and not because we don't have it, it's just that the refineries have slowed down for maintenance," Kut said.
She said that a simultaneous increase in demand is also driving the price up.
"All of a sudden you're seeing an increase now this time of year because of the (Easter) holiday coming," she said. "You're seeing more traffic on the road."
Kut said that she doesn't foresee another price surge in the near future, and thinks the prices will level off until the refineries get back to full production. Still, she points out that prices are much lower now than they have been in years.
"A dollar and a half difference in two years - lower," she said. "That's significant."
