AUSTIN (Talk1370.com) -- The statewide average for unleaded gasoline hit $3.00 a gallon this week, and analysts say it's likely to stay at or above that mark for some time to come.
AAA Texas' Weekend Gas Watch puts the average in the Austin-San Marcos metro area at $2.96 a gallon this week, up two cents from last week and some 88 cents higher than this time a year ago.
The statewide average of $3.00 is up four cents this week, and 89 cents higher than a year ago. Nationally, drivers are paying three cents more per gallon this week, up to $3.35 - an increase of 94 cents year over year.
Texas has slid to having the fourth lowest average in the country this week, with Mississippi and Kentucky holding at $2.99 a gallon and Arkansas in the third place spot.
Drivers in El Paso continue to see some of the state's highest prices on average, paying $3.29 a gallon, while Amarillo clocks in with the lowest average this week at $2.90 a gallon.
Analysts say that rising geopolitical tensions between Russia and the West over Ukraine continues to drive crude oil prices higher, and that will more than likely lead to additional cost at the pump. Demand for fuel also increased from the week prior while regional gasoline supplies remained practically the same, according to the most recent EIA data. Gulf Coast refinery utilization remains the same from the week prior.
“With tensions escalated between Ukraine and Russia and demand for gasoline climbing, market prices for crude oil have been moving upward,” said AAA Texas' Daniel Armbruster. “While gas price trends can sometimes be unpredictable, the current market environment suggests higher pump prices could stick around for a while."
