Florida gas prices continue to rise

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Gasoline prices in Florida continued to increase last week, as demand creeps up. The average price of a gallon of regular unleaded gas Monday was $3.22, up from $3.15 a week earlier and $3.09 a month earlier, according to the AAA auto club. “We are in that time of year where pump prices begin to heat up, usually peaking around July,” AAA spokesman Andrew Gross said in a prepared statement. “But unless something shocks the global oil market and causes prices to spike, the national average for a gallon of gas will probably stagger higher, with some flat days or even small price dips along the way.” Florida’s average price Monday was 7 cents higher than the national average. Florida’s lowest prices were in the Panhandle, including an average of $2.94 a gallon in the Panama City area and $2.95 in the Crestview-Fort Walton Beach area The highest average was in the West Palm Beach-Boca Raton area at $3.40 a gallon.