Gas prices remain steady for second straight week

For the second straight week, gas prices in the area did not change, with the average still at $2.41 a gallon, according to GasBuddy’s weekly survey.

The price of gas is up about 4 cents per gallon from this time last year and up almost 6 cents per gallon from a month ago. The national average is up 9 cents month to month and almost 19 cents year to year.

The average price is down $1.03 from this time five years ago, when a gallon of gas in the Sarasota-Bradenton area was selling for an average of $3.44.

For Florida, the national average remained $2.44 a gallon.

“With oil prices rallying to their highest level since 2014, it’s no surprise that gasoline prices continue to show frustrating strength for this time of year,” said Patrick DeHaan, head of petroleum analysis for GasBuddy. “While winter is usually a time for modest declines at the pump, this year has seen anything but. While two years ago areas of the country flirted with sub-$1 gas prices, we now see most areas more than double that.

“One bright spot however, is that gasoline production remains very strong at a time of year when it tends to be weak, and that could open the door for some larger discounts in the weeks ahead as refiners begin to move winter gasoline out of inventories to prepare for the transition to cleaner burning gasoline. The window is relatively small and closes shortly after Valentine’s Day, so don’t expect much improvement before the annual spring surge begins.”

This story was originally published January 15, 2018 at 11:12 AM with the headline "Gas prices remain steady for second straight week."