AUSTIN (Talk1370.com) -- After weeks of declining prices at Austin-area gas pumps, the latest data from AAA Texas shows prices flattening out.
AAA's Weekend Gas Watch shows the average price for a gallon of regular unleaded is $3.18 this week in the Austin metro area. The average is 41 cents higher than this time a year ago, when drivers were paying an average of $2.77 a gallon.
Across the state, the average fell three cents this week to $3.15, which is 33 cents higher than a year ago. Drivers in Amarillo are paying the most on average at $3.40 per gallon, while drivers in McAllen are paying the least at $2.95 per gallon.
Nationwide, drivers are paying an average of $3.68 a gallon, down two cents on the week and 49 cents higher than this time a year ago.
The Texas statewide weekly gas price average has been on the decline for three consecutive months as the price of crude oil is impacted by a slowdown in demand for retail gasoline contradicted by headlines of oil supply concerns.
Inflation and economic slowdown worries have been keeping oil prices lower compared to where they were over the summer. Most of the country is now using less expensive winter blend gasoline, so modest pump price reductions have already occurred when it comes to the annual switch. Retail pump price fluctuations remain possible due to Russia’s war in Ukraine and increasing hurricane activity.