TAMPA, Fla. — Gas prices are starting to tick down in Florida, but drivers continue to feel the financial impact at the pump as relief hinges on the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz amid a two-week ceasefire between the United States and Iran.
According to AAA, gas prices in Florida are $4.12. The national average is $4.16.
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The military operation, known as Operation Epic Fury, is currently on a two-week pause. However, the timeline for when gas prices will return to normal depends on whether the Strait of Hormuz remains open to commercial shipping.
"Every other day, having to put more gas and it's affecting my, you know, money to buy food, groceries, pay the mortgage," Michael O'Connell said.
"Two-three months ago, it was like two and change, $2 and change. You know, now it's just jumped up like a whole... $2 and change... so it's pretty high," Soloman Childs said.
While most of the oil used in the U.S. does not come from the Strait of Hormuz, price relief still depends on the region's stability.
"What has been agreed to, what's been stated is the strait is open. Our military is watching. I'm sure their military is watching, but commerce will flow," Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said.
"We've already seen an increase in traffic today. Hopefully. We see an increase in traffic tomorrow. We actually think that we are seeing signs that the straits are starting to reopen," Vice President JD Vance said.
The Iranian Foreign Minister said Wednesday that the strait would again be closed due to Israeli strikes on Hezbollah, an Iranian-backed militia group in Lebanon.
"I think the Iranians thought that the ceasefire included Lebanon, and it just didn't. We never made that promise. We never indicated that was going to be the case," Vance said.
Experts note that if the strait remains open and ships continue flowing in and out, gas prices will slowly make their way down. However, damaged infrastructure could delay a full return to normal prices.
"It's going to be weeks and months to get the production back online, and given that about 3 million barrels a day of refining capacity has been damaged, that can take months to years to be repaired," Andy Lipow of Lipow Oil Associates said.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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