AAA Texas: Weekend Gas Watch; New Year Brings Higher Pump Prices

HOUSTON--Jan. 9, 2004--Beginning this week, AAA Texas extends its coverage in Weekend Gas Watch to include Amarillo, Beaumont and the Galveston-Texas City area. These cities will be permanent fixtures to the Weekend Gas Watch.

Currently, the Texas average for a gallon of regular self-serve gasoline is $1.45 a gallon -- four cents more than the New Year's average of $1.41 a gallon. Corpus Christi saw the biggest jump of nearly nine cents a gallon to an average of $1.44. The Galveston-Texas City area has the cheapest fuel by only a tenth of a penny with an average of $1.43 -- up nearly a nickel. Although Dallas saw the smallest increase of slightly more than three pennies, it still remains the most expensive on the list at $1.46 a gallon.

"As temperatures begin to drop across the United States, pump prices are moving upward," said Rose Rougeau of AAA Texas. "Sustained periods of cold weather usually cause oil and gasoline prices to move higher as refineries begin producing more heating oil instead of gasoline."

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

Average prices as of 12:01 a.m., Jan. 9, 2004:

Area                  1/1/04    1/9/04     Change       Record Price
-----                 -------   -------  ----------    ---------------
Amarillo              $1.375    $1.429   +5.4 cents    $1.683(6/1/01)
 
Austin-San Marcos     $1.394    $1.442   +4.8 cents    $1.580(3/19/03)

Beaumont              $1.401    $1.449   +4.8 cents    $1.609(3/18/03)

Corpus Christi        $1.354    $1.439   +8.5 cents    $1.590(2/20/03)


Area                  1/1/04    1/9/04     Change       Record Price
-----                 -------   -------  ----------    ---------------
Dallas                $1.422    $1.455   +3.3 cents    $1.666(5/12/01)

Fort Worth            $1.407    $1.444   +3.7 cents    $1.660(5/22/01)

Galveston -           $1.383    $1.428   +4.5 cents    $1.653(5/16/01)
Texas City

Houston               $1.391    $1.436   +4.5 cents    $1.639(5/12/01)

San Antonio           $1.371    $1.429   +4.8 cents    $1.582(3/18/03)

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.