Average gasoline price down 23 cents in Texas since June

The average price for a gallon of gasoline has dropped two cents in Beaumont this week and 23 cents in Texas since last month, according to AAA Texas.

The AAA survey released Thursday indicates the average price is $2.34 in Beaumont, down from $2.36 last week.  The average price was $3.92 at this time last year.  The record high was $4 a gallon on July 16, 2008.

From AAA Texas

(IRVING, TEXAS; July 23, 2009) ---- Gas prices dropped slightly in most areas of the state over the last week, continuing the trend that has dropped Texas pump prices by more than 20 cents over the last month, according to the AAA Texas Weekend Gas Watch.

Texas drivers are paying 23 cents a gallon less for gasoline than they were one month ago. And for the month of July, gasoline is at its lowest point since 2005. The cost of a gallon of unleaded regular is just a fraction above $2.31 a gallon compared to $2.34 last Thursday, July 16.  The least expensive gas is $2.28 in Houston, Ft. Worth and Amarillo.  El Paso rates the highest at nearly $2.45, a drop of more than four cents.  On the national level, prices have also fallen by about three cents in the last week from just above $2.49 to $2.46.

The drop in gasoline has slowed somewhat during the last week as the price for oil on world markets increased, today trading on the NYMEX exchange in the $67 to $68 dollar a barrel range.  Prices have risen during the last week but oil supplies – which include gasoline and heating oil – remain at their highest level in 24 years as demand remains low.

“To put the savings of the last month into perspective, on June 23, 2009 Texans were paying $2.54 a gallon, and today it’s $2.31," said AAA Texas/New Mexico Corporate Communication Manager Dan Ronan. "A typical car has a 14-gallon tank.  At twenty three cents per gallon less, that’s a savings of $3.22 cents per tank or it’s like getting more than a gallon of gas free at every fill up.  And compared to prices last year, drivers are saving almost $23 on a 14-gallon tank of gas."