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Gas prices continue to fall in southeast

For the second consecutive week, gas prices have fallen in Florida and may continue to decrease, according to AAA spokeswoman Jessica Brady.

Brady said pessimistic news about the global economy, including lagging demand in the U.S. and manufacturing growth continuing to slow in China, has pushed crude oil prices down.

"So all that put together, we're just seeing again ample supply with weakened demand and economic growth," she said.

With tension in the Middle East still simmering between the U.S., Israel and Iran, as well as in Libya and other Muslim countries, a supply disruption is a threat to gas prices, though.

"It's a little bit of a balance game at this point," Brady said. "The turmoil and violence that we're seeing over in the Mideast and North Africa is definitely still a factor and does have the potential to drive prices right back up. Right now, there's a lot of concern of supply disruptions and if we were to see one, we can probably expect to see gas prices shoot up almost immediately."

Brady predicted that gas prices will continue to fall this week in the southeastern U.S., but said prices would have to fall further to compare to last year's prices.

"Compared to where we were last year, we still have a long ways to go," she said. "Motorists are still paying, on average, 30 cents more now than they did this time last year."

Kelly is a reporter who can be contacted by calling 352-392-6397 or emailing news@wuft.org.