JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — There's only one word to describe the recent spike in gas prices.
"It's just absurd I don't know how many times I can say the word absurd, but it's a perfect description of it," said Jacksonville resident, Zavier Rathle.
Rathle paid $70 to fill up his BMW sedan Thursday afternoon.
"If I was in a pickup truck it would be $115-$120," Rathle said.
First Coast News has noticed an increase of 14 cents per gallon at the Shell gas station on Atlantic Boulevard in San Marco in the last week.
Jacksonville residents have as well.
"I've seen noticeable changes in the gas prices in the last few months. Gas went from being $300 a month to now what some people pay more in rent, it's not good," Jacksonville resident, AJ Copeland, said.
So why the recent spike?
"There's a lot of money, the economy is re-opening so there's a lot of demand, supply and geopolitics and guess what that's why you see oil prices going up that much," Jacksonville University Professor of Finance, Abdel Missa, said.
Missa said the issue is complex and driven by three factors: geopolitics, supply, and inflation.
He says The Biden Administration's weak relationship with Saudi Arabia has caused a sharp increase in gas prices this year.
Due to the weak relationship with Saudi Arabia and Saudi Arabia's key presence in The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), supply has been impacted.
"OPEC had a meeting recently they increased production by 4,000 barrels a day....they could do more. They are not supplying enough oil even where demand is," Missa said.
Missa added the United States, another major oil player, has also lowered its own supply of oil, which he says can be attributed to shell companies being more disciplined than before the pandemic.
The final driver is inflation.
"They stimulated the economy and printed trillions of dollars. The system is flooded with money, which potentially can cause inflation," Missa said.
Relief may be coming soon however.
Central banks around the world plan to increase interest rates next month to combat inflation.
Missa said a more permanent solution to lower gas prices lies in the Middle East.
"We need to figure out this relationship like hopefully this Ukraine/Russia crisis calms down and we to strengthen the relationship somehow with Saudi Arabia so that we increase oil supply. I think that's probably a more permanent solution to the issue that we have," Missa said.