AUSTIN (Talk1370.com) -- Drivers across the Austin area are seeing higher prices on average at the gas pump - the first increase in weeks, according to the latest edition of AAA Texas' Weekend Gas Watch.
The average price for a gallon of regular unleaded rose four cents this week to $3.22 a gallon. That's 38 cents higher than this time last year, when drivers were paying an average of $2.84 a gallon.
Across the state, the average is up nine cents this week to $3.20 a gallon, which is up 35 cents from a year ago.
Drivers in El Paso are paying the most on average at $3.56 per gallon, while drivers in the Brownsville-Harlingen metropolitan area are paying the least at $3.02 per gallon.
The national average is sitting at $3.87 a gallon this week, up nine cents from a week ago and up 65 cents from last year.
On Wednesday, OPEC+ announced plans to cut production by two million barrels per day. Gas prices across Texas began increasing just hours before the anticipated announcement. While it’s too early to determine how high retail gasoline prices will increase, or for how long, the impact is expected to last through this coming weekend, possibly further.
The national gas price average had already been on the rise since mid-September due to a number of factors including refinery issues on the West Coast, a refinery fire in the Midwest and Hurricane Ian. Supplies of refined gasoline and crude oil remain tight across the U.S., as demand climbed again this week. The switchover from summer blend to the cheaper winter blend fuel has already taken place across most of the country.
“Tight supplies, climbing demand and OPEC+’s announcement to cutback output by two million barrels per day are putting upward pressure on retail gas prices,” said AAA Texas spokesperson Daniel Armbruster. “It’s too early to determine how strong of an impact the production cuts will have on pump prices. However, prices in Texas started increasing just hours ahead of the anticipated announcement and will likely continue to move upwards through the weekend.”