Drivers, don’t fret — Gas prices should ease further

blaserPhoto by Mike Lang, Herald-Tribune staff

Story by Justine Griffin for the Herald-Tribune.

John Blaser cringes every time he pulls into a gas station.

As the owner of a Sarasota-based landscaping company, he is on the road a lot, moving from one job to the next.

But lately, he has been feeling the pinch at the pump, as gas prices peaked last week at an average of $3.78 per gallon.

“I just don’t want to see it at $4.10 a gallon by the end of summer,” said Blaser, who owns Native Son Landscaping, which services Sarasota and Manatee counties. “The gas market is volatile. I know prices will fluctuate and eventually go down again, but I doubt it will go down that much.”

Drivers, rest assured: Prices will likely drop some and stabilize for the summer, analysts say, as oil refineries switch from a winter blend to a summer blend of gas. The Sarasota-Venice-Bradenton market felt some relief this week — prices hovered in the $3.73 range — but retail prices are still 30 cents more than they were a year ago, AAA data shows.

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