The price of a gallon of gasoline in Florida jumped nearly a dime during the past week, and travel experts blame the increase on the value of the U.S. dollar and last month's unemployment figures.
The news last week that U.S. employers added fewer jobs than expected resulted in investors plunking their money down on crude oil, said Jessica Brady, spokeswoman for AAA Auto Club South. That pushed up prices $5 to $89.19 a barrel.
That fewer people were working meant fuel consumption dropped off after the Thanksgiving push and remained down nearly 2 percent - its lowest level in two months.
"The November news is very likely to keep the value of the dollar down and oil prices high, pushing them above $90 a barrel," Brady said in a news release issued Sunday. "This is not good news going into the December holiday season, and while we don't expect the higher gas prices to deter many holiday travelers, it will definitely make consumer wallets a little tighter.
"Gas prices have already shown steep increases going into this week and will likely continue upwards as a result of the $5 plus increase in the price of oil."
The national average price of unleaded regular gasoline is $2.93 per gallon, up 7 cents from last week. Florida's average price of $2.94 reflected a 9-cent increase.
Prices are up 40 cents per gallon from last December, the auto club said.
Among larger cities, Denver had the lowest average price, at $2.61 a gallon for regular. Long Island, N.Y., had the highest, at $3.21.
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