Orlando’s average gas prices are up about 40 cents ahead of Hurricane Irma, but WDBO’s oil expert believes the storm will not have as great an impact on prices as Hurricane Harvey.
On Tuesday, the average price for a gallon of regular gas in Orlando was $2.69, up from $2.30 at the same time a week ago.
"There may not be a whole lot of an impact to gas prices because gasoline is starting to flow from Gulf Coast refineries that supply Florida," said Patrick DeHaan, a senior petroleum analyst at GasBuddy.com.
“That could alter the future of gas prices in Florida, but it’s a little too early to know if gas prices would rise,” DeHaan says. “What we do know is that we’re unlikely to see a rise similar to that of Harvey.”
DeHaan thinks the increase in prices may start to slow, but that could be affected by the exact timing of Hurricane Irma along with gasoline bound for Florida.
DeHaan says usually after a major storm comes what’s called “demand destruction.” That’s when people are not driving as much after a storm and not demanding as much gas.
“That would actually affect prices after [the storm],” DeHaan says. “But usually we do see an increase in demand ahead of a storm.
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