Back to school, back to work, back to rising gas prices

The Thanksgiving weekend in the rearview mirror, gas prices are expected to rise this week as the December holiday season approaches.

Prices have been slowly declining for more than two weeks, though that is forecast to change as a high-stakes Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) meeting draws near.

“Prices at the pump are poised for an increase of 3-5 cents, based on current fundamentals,” AAA spokesman Mark Jenkins said.

The reason: Representatives of OPEC, Russia and other oil producing countries will meet Thursday to decide whether to extend an agreement to reduce oil production levels by 1.8 million barrels per day. The current agreement expires at the end of the first quarter of 2018. Preliminary reports are that the agreement could extend through the end of 2018.

News of that potential extension helped crude oil reach $59.95 per barrel, an increase that often results in a 10-cent increase at the pump, Jenkins said.

“Prices could face additional upward pressure as we creep closer to the OPEC meeting,” Jenkins said.

Prices in the Bradenton-Sarasota region averaged $2.44 per gallon on Monday, down 3 cents in the past week but 40 cents higher than this time a year ago.

The two-county average was below both the state ($2.46) and national ($2.51) averages.

“With Thanksgiving travel now behind us, all eyes turn to OPEC and their meeting this week to determine the fate of the cartel’s oil production,” said Patrick DeHaan, head of petroleum analysis for GasBuddy. “Gasoline prices took a breather heading into Thanksgiving, which may last another few days, but as oil prices perk back up heading into OPEC’s annual meeting, we may see a rebound soon.”

GasBuddy, which track fuel pricing, reported Manatee County stations were averaging $2.43 per gallon to start the week, with Sarasota County at $2.44.

Nearby, Hillsborough County outlets were averaging $2.39, with Pinellas County at $2.40.

As usual, the state’s most-expensive regions are in South Florida, led by West Palm Beach-Boca Raton ($2.58) and Miami ($2.56).

The least-expensive were Pensacola ($2.37) and Jacksonville ($2.40).

This story was originally published November 27, 2017 at 9:16 AM with the headline "Back to school, back to work, back to rising gas prices."