AUSTIN (Talk1370.com) -- Austin area drivers are paying less at the gas pump this week, according to the latest AAA Texas Weekend Gas Watch.
Across the Austin-San Marcos metro area, drivers are paying an average of $3.19 a gallon this week, which is down five cents from last week and 19 cents higher than this time a year ago, when prices hit the $3.00 mark.
Statewide, the average fell seven cents this week to $3.19 a gallon. It's a 14 cent increase from this time last year, when drivers were paying an average of $3.05 a gallon.
Looking at individual markets across the state, drivers in El Paso are paying the most on average at $3.46 per gallon, while drivers in McAllen and Brownsville are paying the least at $3.02 per gallon.
Nationwide, the average fell eight cents this week to $3.76 a gallon, which is 37 cents more than this time a year ago.
Analysts say that despite ongoing volatility in crude oil markets, the overall trend for the statewide average has been downward. Global recession fears coupled with the Biden Administration’s plan to continue tapping the Strategic Petroleum Reserve into December has helped temper oil prices mostly over the past week.
"Fuel prices are going down despite strong demand as road trip travel remains popular this fall - reaching almost summer-like levels this prior week,” said AAA Texas spokesperson Daniel Armbruster. “Despite strong demand, fears of a global recession and the White House’s plan to tap the Strategic Petroleum Reserve through December are sending retail gas prices lower.”
Drivers in Texas continue to see the second-lowest gas price average in the country, second only to Georgia. California continues to see the nation's highest average at $5.64 a gallon.
