AAA Texas: Weekend Gas Watch; New Records Set in Texas

HOUSTON--March 12, 2004--Texas motorists are paying record prices for gasoline this week, according to AAA Texas' Weekend Gas Watch.

Currently, the Texas average for a gallon of regular self-serve gasoline is $1.606 -- nearly two cents more than last week's average, and a penny shy of a statewide record price of $1.616 set in March of last year. In San Antonio, where motorists are paying the least, retail prices reached new highs this week to an average of $1.588 a gallon -- up two cents. Corpus Christi, not Dallas, tops the list this week with an average of $1.623 a gallon. It also showed the biggest gain of nearly three cents.

"Four Texas cities either set new records with gas prices or matched previous record highs," said Rose Rougeau of AAA Texas. "The next two weeks could be uncertain with mostly downward pressure."

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

Average Daily Prices as of 12:01 AM, March 12, 2004:

                                      Previous
Area           Current   Change     Record Price       New Record
----           -------   ------     ------------       ----------
Austin-
San Marcos     $1.597  + 2.5 cents  $1.580 (3/19/03)  $1.598 (3/9/04)

Beaumont       $1.594  + 1.2 cents  $1.609 (3/18/03)  $1.609 (3/9/04)

Corpus Christi $1.623  + 2.8 cents  $1.590 (2/20/03)  $1.625 (3/6/04)

Dallas         $1.617  + 1.2 cents  $1.666 (5/12/01)

Fort Worth     $1.606  + 1.3 cents  $1.660 (5/22/01)

Galveston -    $1.594  + 2.2 cents  $1.653 (5/16/01)
Texas City

Houston        $1.595  + 2.2 cents  $1.639 (5/12/01)

San Antonio    $1.588  + 2.3 cents  $1.582 (3/18/03)  $1.588 (3/11/04)

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.