AUSTIN (Talk1370.com) -- The average price for regular unleaded gasoline across the Austin-San Marcos area continues to hover around the $3 mark, according to this week's AAA Texas Weekend Gas Watch.
Statewide, drivers are seeing the sixth straight week of declines in the average, which is down a penny this week to $3.02 a gallon. That's 18 cents cheaper than a year ago.
The Austin-San Marcos average is also at $3.02 a gallon this week, which is a two cent increase from last week and 17 cents cheaper than this time last year.
Of the major metropolitan areas surveyed in Texas, drivers in El Paso are paying the most on average at $3.32 per gallon while drivers in the McAllen and Brownsville/Harlingen metro areas are paying the least at $2.87 per gallon. The national average price for a gallon of regular unleaded is $3.53, which is three cents less when compared to this day last week and 23 cents less than the price per gallon at this same time last year.
Although the downward trend has continued, the decreases have mostly leveled off. Analysts say this is due to two key factors: the persistent influence of crude oil prices and the persistent summer-like demand for gasoline. Both these factors have collectively prevented retail fuel prices from experiencing a more substantial drop.
The most recent data from the Energy Information Administration indicates that gasoline supplies increased slightly week-to-week. This, coupled with the imminent switch to winter-blend gasoline, holds the potential to exert additional downward pressure on retail gas prices in the upcoming days.
"The recent decline in pump prices seems to have momentarily hit a plateau," said AAA Texas' Daniel Armbruster. "For the sixth consecutive week, the statewide gas price average has dipped, but only by a penny over the last week. If gasoline supplies continue to build and crude oil prices decrease, drivers may find further savings just around the corner.”
Texas has the third-lowest average in the country this week, behind Georgia and Mississippi. California continues to have the nation's highest average, at $5.35 a gallon.