AAA Texas: Weekend Gas Watch; Gasoline Prices Drop for Ninth Week

IRVING, Texas--Dec. 3, 20041, 2004--Texas motorists are enjoying nine consecutive weeks of lower gasoline prices, according to AAA Texas' Weekend Gas Watch.

The statewide average for a gallon of regular self-serve gasoline dropped a penny to $1.683.

The cheapest on the list is San Antonio at $1.629 a gallon, down about two cents. Dallas edged by the Austin-San Marcos area to have the highest average on the list at $1.687 a gallon - a weekly decrease of one cent.

"As 2004 draws to a close, the statewide average price of regular self serve is $1.683, 14.1 cents lower than a month ago," said Rose Rougeau, spokesperson for AAA Texas. "The overall trend for retail gasoline prices should remain lower during the coming weeks, unless something dramatic sends crude oil prices above $45 a barrel for an extended period."

The national average for regular self-serve gasoline fell nearly two cents to $1.782 a gallon.

AAA Texas' Weekend Gas Watch monitors the average price of gasoline at popular destinations for automobile trips.

Average Daily Prices as of 12:01 a.m., Dec. 31, 2004:

                                                           Last Year's
Area                 Current    Change      Record Price      Price
----                 -------    ------      ------------   -----------
National             $1.782   -1.7 cents  $2.054 (05/26/04)  $1.484
State                $1.683   -1.5 cents  $1.927 (05/26/04)  $1.407
Austin-San Marcos    $1.684   -1.4 cents  $1.929 (05/27/04)  $1.391
Beaumont             $1.661   -1.1 cents  $1.903 (06/01/04)  $1.383
Corpus Christi       $1.596   -0.7 cent   $1.925 (05/26/04)  $1.350
Dallas               $1.687   -1.6 cents  $1.932 (05/27/04)  $1.416
Ft. Worth            $1.677   -1.1 cents  $1.924 (05/28/04)  $1.405
Galveston-Texas City $1.668   -1.7 cents  $1.922 (06/01/04)  $1.387
Houston              $1.669   -0.1 cent   $1.909 (06/01/04)  $1.388
San Antonio          $1.629   -1.9 cents  $1.952 (05/26/04)  $1.369

AAA Texas, an affiliate of AAA National, has been serving Texans since 1902. Today, more than a million AAA Texas members benefit from the organization's roadside assistance service, travel agency, financial products, insurance products and services, automotive pricing, buying and financing, trip planning services and traffic safety programs. Information about these products and services is available on AAA Texas' Web site at www.aaa-texas.com.