AUSTIN (Talk1370.com) -- Gas prices across the Austin metro area are down slightly this week, according to AAA Texas' Weekend Gas Watch.
The average price for a gallon of regular unleaded fuel across the Austin-San Marcos metro area is $1.91 this week, down two cents from last week and 36 cents cheaper than a year ago. Across the state, drivers are paying an average of $1.94, down one cent this week and 35 cents cheaper than a year ago.
Nationally, the average is flat this week, at $2.25 per gallon.
Of the major metropolitan areas surveyed in Texas, drivers in Odessa are paying the most on average at $2.13 a gallon, while drivers in the Sherman-Denison area are paying the least at $1.83 per gallon.
Throughout 2020, on average for the entire year, drivers in Texas have been filling up with the cheapest gas in 16 years, according to AAA historical gas price data. The annual average for a gallon of regular unleaded statewide this year was $1.87. The last time Texas had a cheaper statewide annual average was in 2004 at $1.74 per gallon.
"While the state's pump price average has been flirting with returning to $2 a gallon, the annual average for a gallon of regular unleaded is the cheapest it's been in 16 years," said AAA Texas' Joshua Zuber. "And gas price averages may be headed down again after the year-end holiday travel season concludes in early January."
A drop in demand as a result of COVID-19's impact on travel and daily commutes has been the primary cause for the decline in gas prices, according to industry analysts, and this trend could continue into early 2021. Drivers in Texas are paying some of the cheapest prices at the pump, ranking 2nd lowest in the country this week, according to AAA.
