SAN ANTONIO – Gas prices have ticked up in the past week, but the trend of prices staying below $2 per gallon this year in Texas continues.
According to AAA Texas, gas prices in the state average at $1.95 per gallon, which is below the national average of $2.24 as of Christmas Eve.
The average price in Texas is up by 7 cents since last week.
“We saw crude oil reach about $49 a barrel earlier this week, so we haven’t seen that in quite some time,” said Joshua Zuber, a spokesman for AAA Texas. “While we’re at a surplus over where we were last year, we’re seeing that surplus diminishing just a little bit. So the market has also responded to that with slightly increasing gas prices across the state and across the country.”
Despite the increase, prices are still 29 cents lower per gallon than this time last year. Gas prices in the San Antonio region are averaging around $1.86 per gallon, some of the lowest prices in the state.
Gas prices have been below $2 per gallon since March, the longest such stretch in Texas since 2005.
Zuber said while low gas prices are usually an incentive for holiday travelers, the pandemic has changed driving patterns.
“With COVID-19 concerns, likely the opposite is going to be true,” Zuber said. “Rather, folks are going to be paying attention to the public health landscape, the rise in cases, and likely making last-minute decisions not to travel for the year-end holiday period.”
AAA Texas projects a 26% drop in the number of people traveling by car this holiday season, but that’s still an estimated 6.6 million Texans expected on the state’s roadways through Jan. 3.
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