FLORIDA GAS PRICES FALL 6 CENTS
US-China trade agreement could interrupt the plunge at the pump
TAMPA, Fla., (December 16, 2019) — Florida drivers have enjoyed declining prices at the pump, but the latest developments in the US-China trade agreement may cause the plunge at the pump to stall or even reverse course.
Florida gas prices declined the past nine consecutive days for a total of 8 cents per gallon. The state average of $2.46 is 6 cents less than a week ago. However, drivers are paying 8 cents per gallon more than last month, and 16 cents more than this time last year. The state average remains 34 cents per gallon less than this year’s high – set back in April.
Crude oil prices jumped after the U.S. and China announced a tentative “Phase One” trade agreement. This deal would reduce some U.S. tariffs in exchange for increased Chinese purchases of American farm goods. Until now, the trade war has had a limiting effect on crude prices, due to expectations that higher prices on each countries goods would result in lower fuel demand.
On Friday, the price of crude reached $60.07 per barrel. That was the highest daily closing price in three months, but only a dollar more than where prices were on Monday. A one-dollar shift in crude prices typically influence gas prices by about 2.5 cents.
“It’s too early to know just how much of an impact this preliminary US-China trade agreement will have on local prices at the pump,” said Mark Jenkins, spokesman, AAA – The Auto Club Group. “Without it, gas prices would certainly continue falling. Gasoline supplies have grown considerably in the past five weeks, while demand has entered its seasonal slowdown. It’s certainly possible these fundamentals outweigh the impacts of the trade agreement, and push gas prices even lower through the end of the year; but if crude prices see significant gains this week, pump prices will reverse course.”
Regional Prices
• Most expensive metro markets – West Palm Beach-Boca Raton ($2.57), Sebring ($2.52), Gainesville ($2.51)
• Least expensive metro markets – Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater ($2.38), Punta Gorda ($2.40), Pensacola ($2.40)
Find Florida Gas Prices
• Daily gas price averages can be found at Gasprices.aaa.com
• State and metro averages can be found here
AAA GAS PRICE AVERAGES
(Price per gallon of regular unleaded gasoline)
Sunday Saturday Week Ago Month Ago One Year Ago 2019 High
(YTD) 2018 High Record High
National $2.556 $2.560 $2.577 $2.606 $2.383 $2.895 $2.97 (5/26/2018) $4.11 (7/17/2008)
Florida $2.457 $2.464 $2.523 $2.375 $2.301 $2.795 $2.92 (5/25/2018) $4.08 (7/17/2008)
Georgia $2.394 $2.396 $2.420 $2.421 $2.188 $2.735 $2.84 (5/27/2018) $4.16 (9/15/2008)
Click here to view current gasoline price averages
Gas Price Survey Methodology
AAA updates fuel price averages daily at www.GasPrices.AAA.com. Every day up to 130,000 stations are surveyed based on credit card swipes and direct feeds in cooperation with the Oil Price Information Service (OPIS) and Wright Express for unmatched statistical reliability. All average retail prices in this report are for a gallon of regular, unleaded gasoline.