Daytona Beach, FL - The plunge at the pump continued last week as Florida gas prices declined nearly 10 cents.
That's because of global demand concerns keeping downward pressure on the price of crude, according to AAA's latest gas report.
Currently, Florida's average is hovering around $2.44 per gallon (regular unleaded), which is an eight-cent discount when compared to last week's average of $2.52. Over the past 25 days, Florida's prices have declined a total of 26 cents.
Sunday's (August 11th) state average is 20 cents less than a month ago and 37 cents less than this time last year. Pump prices are also 36 cents less than this year's highest daily price of $2.80, which was set in April.
"Gas prices remain closely tied to weekly moves in the price of oil," said Mark Jenkins, spokesman for AAA. "The oil market remains concerned about how the ongoing US-China trade war is impacting the global economy, and subsequently oil demand."
Last week, oil plummeted after reports that global oil demand in the first half of 2019 grew at the slowest rate in 11 years. However, crude recovered after OPEC announced plans for additional crude production cuts, later this year, according to Jenkins.
The price for a barrel of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) settled at $54.50 on Friday (August 9th) on the New York Mercantile Exchange, a discount of $1.16 per barrel from the week before.
Right now Volusia County drivers are looking at a countywide average of $2.46 per gallon, which is two-cents higher than Florida's current average, but eight-cents less than last week's average.
Flagler drivers are paying just a little bit more, sitting at $2.47 per gallon for a countywide average.
The highest averages seen in the state can be found in Tallahassee and Panama City, who are seeing prices hover around $2.62 per gallon.
The cheapest gas prices in the state will be found at Punta Gorda, with a price of $2.34 per gallon.
The current national average is $2.64 per gallon, which is a three-cent drop compared to the average seen at the start of last week.
