Gas prices continue to fluctuate, San Marcos drivers see marginal decrease

After gas prices in the San Marcos area rose nearly 30 cent increase over two weeks, fuel costs declined slightly over the past week.

Drivers in the San Marcos/Austin area saw a $0.28 rise in the average cost of regular unleaded gas between Dec. 22-Jan. 5, according to AAA Texas. Gas prices declined over the past week by two cents per gallon as of Thursday in the San Marcos area.

The average price per gallon of regular unleaded fuel was $2.86 in the San Marcos/Austin area on Thursday. Average gas prices in the area are 3-cents lower than this time last year.

Texas saw an overall 4-cent decrease per gallon of regular unleaded fuel — a fall from $2.89 last week to $2.85 on Thursday, according to AAA Texas. Average gas prices in Texas are $0.06 lower than this time last year. Texans are paying the lowest for gas in the U.S., AAA Texas stated.

AAA Texas said gas prices fell over the past week because of decreasing crude oil prices. AAA Texas also cited lower demand and refineries returning to closer to normal operation after the winter weather at the end of 2022.

“Weaker demand for fuel, along with slightly cheaper crude oil prices, are helping reverse the recent upward trend in what drivers are paying at the gas pump,” AAA Texas spokesperson Daniel Armbruster said. “Currently, Texas has the lowest gas price average of any U.S. state. Remember to research gas prices by using a mobile app, such as the AAA mobile app, to see how much stations are charging.”

Nationwide, gas prices decreased slightly by 1 cent, according to AAA Texas. The national average is $3.25, GasBuddy said.  The national average price of diesel has decreased by  2.1 cents since last week and was at $4.64 per gallon, GasBuddy said.

“I’m optimistic that as refiners get back online, we could see the increases slow down as we head into the time of year when gasoline demand is at its weakest,” said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy. “While gasoline prices have rallied, average diesel prices continue to drift lower, which certainly bodes well for the overall economy. As long as refiners are able to get back online soon from previous cold-weather outages, we could see supply start to recover at the same time demand is weak, which could bring gas prices down again. The window of opportunity, however, is shrinking, and by late February or early March, we’ll likely kick off the seasonal rise in gasoline prices.”

In Texas, drivers in the El Paso area are paying the most on average at $3.09 per gallon, while drivers in the Sherman-Denison area are paying the least at $2.66.