Gas prices in Florida surged again last week and on Friday reached a 2023 high of $3.84 a gallon — 58 cents more than what we paid during the July Fourth holiday weekend. At least one petroleum analyst is warning that climbing gas prices begin to affect the U.S. economy as early as next month. And travel club AAA spokesman Mark Jenkins noted in his weekly Gas Price Update that “Florida gas prices are now the highest since August of last year.” Two major factors are to blame, experts agree. At least four fuel refineries in Texas and Louisiana suffered outages caused at least in part by high summer temperatures, said Patrick De Haan, head of fuel analysis for the price comparison website GasBuddy.com, according to a story on Monday by Politico. A spokesman for the American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers confirmed to Politico that some refineries saw unplanned outages that can be attributed to weather as well as unexpected maintenance after periods of high utilization. Related Articles Business | Why are gas prices rising?