As you hit road for holidays, prepare to dig deeper into your wallet

Hitting the road for the holidays? If you’re one of the estimated 5.4 million Floridians expected to do so, there will be no break in the price of gas.

Though costs finally have started to level off after rising almost 15 cents per gallon in the past week thanks to rising oil prices, motorists will see the highest holiday prices in two or three years.

On Monday, the average price for a gallon of regular unleaded in the Bradenton-Sarasota area was $2.29, according to AAA, up from $2.15 a week earlier.

A year ago at this time, the average price was $1.98.

“We saw sharp overnight increases at the pumps in Florida, due to rising oil prices,” AAA spokesman Mark Jenkins said.

According to a survey of more than 300 area stations by GasBuddy.com, Manatee County stations were averaging $2.29 per gallon on Monday, up from $2.14 a week earlier. Sarasota County pumps were at $2.30, up from $2.19.

Moreover, local and state prices were higher than the national average.

The state average on Monday was $2.32, a 10-cent jump from a week earlier. Nationally, the average was $2.24, a slight seven-day increase from $2.21.

“Some 39 states saw average gasoline prices rise last week, and this week may see a similar fate at the pump as retail gasoline prices continue to play a game of catch up to the three-week rally in oil prices,” said Patrick DeHaan, a senior petroleum analyst for GasBuddy.

On Christmas Day 2015, the Florida average was $2.01 and the national average was $2.00. Another significant uptick this week could threaten the 2014 prices on Christmas Day of $2.43 statewide and $2.33 nationwide.

This story was originally published December 19, 2016 at 10:36 AM with the headline "As you hit road for holidays, prepare to dig deeper into your wallet."