Florida gas prices fall six cents

But the US-China trade agreement could interrupt the plunge at the pump

From AAA

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 influences 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