“Our country has seen time and again that major storms and often-correlated runs on gas stations can have a swift impact on prices. Already in Florida, some key areas are functioning with roughly 20 percent of retail stations either out of gas or out of power. That means there is less supply overall and some temporary inability to access supplies in certain Florida communities where there is, at present, heightened local demand. The market is resilient and will work to fix this imbalance swiftly, but a return to normalcy will likely not be immediate as the supply chain is complex and buyers will need to return to their normal purchasing habits.”
“Supply/demand market fundamentals are at the core of price changes in times like these. And as an extra layer of protection for consumers, Florida law explicitly says price gouging is illegal and has systems in place to investigate perceived unfair or artificially high prices at the pump.”
