Iran Conflict Drives Gas Prices Higher Across Florida Keys

Gas prices across the Florida Keys surged to their highest levels in more than 18 months after crude oil markets were rattled by the conflict in Iran, with the Keys average reaching $3.94 per gallon on March 8 and stations in Key West climbing past $4, according to Keys Weekly.

The spike was abrupt and severe. Monroe County's average stood near $3 per gallon before hostilities escalated, then shot past $3.79 within days. Florida's statewide average hit $3.45, a gain of roughly 57 cents in a single week and the highest the state had recorded since August 2024. AAA put Monroe County's average at $3.70 in its Sunday snapshot, while Keys Weekly's March 8 daily average reached $3.94, with the difference likely reflecting the continued climb through that week.

The driver was crude oil. Prices soared 36 percent in one week, the largest such weekly surge in 20 years, with Friday's closing price settling at $90.90 per barrel, nearly $24 above the prior week and the highest since September 2023, according to Keys Weekly. Gasoline futures climbed 67 cents per gallon alongside that move. By Sunday evening, crude had pushed past $100 per barrel in electronic trading, prompting a fresh warning from Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy.

"Because oil is surging again in Sunday evening electronic trading, wholesalers and refiners may implement rare 'intra-day' price increases at fuel terminals starting Monday morning as they move to pass along the higher cost of crude oil," De Haan wrote Sunday night. "This could trigger a second wave of gasoline price increases, particularly in states that use price cycling systems such as Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, Illinois, Kentucky, Texas, Florida, Colorado, North Carolina, and South Carolina."

De Haan also noted the cascading strain on industries dependent on transportation fuel. Trucking companies, farmers, freight carriers, and construction firms face particular disruption because fuel surcharges and budgets often cannot adjust quickly enough to absorb price swings of this magnitude.

AAA spokesman Mark Jenkins offered a similar caution. "Prices at the pump moved up quickly early last week as oil prices rallied," Jenkins said. "With oil taking another large step higher last Friday, motorists should prepare for another round of increases in the days ahead as retailers and suppliers adjust to those higher costs."

The geopolitical trigger, according to multiple reports, was the effective halt of tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, a critical chokepoint for global oil supply, following U.S. and Israeli military action against Iran. Florida's week-over-week price increase ranked fourth among all states, trailing only Indiana, Ohio, and Michigan, according to GasBuddy. The state also ranked among the 10 with the fastest-growing diesel prices nationally. Even electric vehicle drivers felt the shift: the per-kilowatt-hour cost at Florida charging stations rose from 39 cents to 41 cents over the same period, according to AAA.

The increases were compounding an already-pressured market. AAA noted that the geopolitical surge landed on top of the annual springtime uptick in demand and the industry's seasonal transition to more expensive summer-blend gasoline.

Florida Senator Rick Scott acknowledged the squeeze but offered a longer timeline for relief. "I think, unfortunately, prices are gonna be up for a while until this ends, but with Venezuelan oil coming on, with American oil and gas coming on, with hopefully a positive resolution to this conflict, I think prices will come down even further," Scott told CNN.

For Monroe County, which sits at the end of a single supply corridor with no competitive pricing pressure from nearby markets, the combination of elevated crude costs, futures increases, and seasonal factors leaves drivers with few alternatives while the conflict continues.