Gas within 10 cents of the $4 a gallon mark in Florida

An average gallon of gas in Florida was 10 cents below the $4 mark, and could top that amount in a couple of weeks, according to AAA.

Floridas $3.90 a gallon average -- up 8 cents from a week earlier -- topped the national mark by 1 cent.

AAA pointed to the impact on retailers:

As gas prices climb, many retailers across the U.S. are seeing their profit margins tumble, Jessica Brady, AAA spokeswoman, stated in a release.

Unfortunately, its the retailers that take the brunt of the blame since they are the most visible to motorists, and drivers see the retailer as the one who puts $4 on the marquee and takes their hard-earned money, when in fact, retailer profit margins shrink the more gas prices increase.

Nationwide, taxes average about 48.8 cents per gallon. Florida taxes make up an average of 53.4 cents of the cost of a gallon of gas, while in Georgia taxes account for approximately 47.8 cents per gallon. The average gallon of gas stood at $3.80 in Georgia.

Retailer profit margins in Florida and Georgia average 10 cents to the gallon, meaning the retailer will make less than $1.50 from the fill-up of a 15 gallon gas tank after paying credit card fees.

The majority, 76 percent, of the cost of a gallon of gas goes to the cost of crude oil, with 12 percent going to taxes, 6 percent to refineries, and the remaining 6 percent split between transportation costs and retailer profits.

The price of a barrel of oil is still holding steady around $107 a barrel, but as seen in prior weeks, retail gas prices continue to rise, Brady stated.Motorists can expect prices to increase well into spring; however, year-to-date price trends mirror that of 2011. If the trending continues like last year, we could see pump prices peak in May and then start to retreat.

A barrel of oil sold for $106.87 on the New York Mercantile Exchange at the end of last week, down $1.19 from the prior week.