AUSTIN (Talk1370.com) -- Gas prices fell again this week across the Austin-San Marcos metro area, according to the latest AAA Texas Weekend Gas Watch.
The average price for a gallon of regular unleaded fuel across the Austin-San Marcos metro is $2.62 this week, down 11 cents from last week and down 24 cents from this time a year ago.
Statewide, drivers are paying an average of $2.65 a gallon, which is also an 11 cent drop from last week's $2.76. It's the ninth straight weekly decline, with the average 25 cents cheaper than a year ago - when drivers were paying $2.90 a gallon on average.
The continued declines come ahead of the year-end holiday travel season, where AAA estimates 8.3 million Texans are expected to drive to their destinations.
Of the major metropolitan areas surveyed in Texas, drivers in Midland are paying the most on average at $2.85 per gallon while drivers in McAllen are paying the least at $2.43 per gallon.
As crude oil prices rise, analysts say it’s possible that decreasing pump prices could soon reverse direction. Factors that are pushing oil prices higher include the ongoing conflict with Russia and Ukraine, easing COVID-19 restrictions in China and a weakening U.S. dollar.
Texas continues to have the lowest gas price average in the country, while Hawaii continues to have the nation's highest average, at $5.15 a gallon this week.
