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Average Price of Gas in Texas Holds Steady

17 March 1999

Average Price of Gas in Texas Holds Steady

    HOUSTON--March 17, 1999--The current average price of self-serve regular unleaded gasoline in Texas is $.8909, according to the March 1999 AAA Fuel Gauge Report. In the February 1999 Report, the average price in Texas was $.8945. "Talk of oil production limits by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has not resulted in an anticipated increase in the average price in Texas," says Bill Noble, a spokesman for AAA Texas. "An increase of 1 cent was found in the national average price and despite a sense that we would see an increase in Texas, we did not find that to be the case at this time," Noble said. The current average price of self-serve regular gas is 10.9 cents lower than last year, when the March 1998 AAA Fuel Gauge Report showed the average price in Texas to be $1.008.
    AAA reports the current national average price for self-serve regular unleaded gasoline is 97 cents per gallon, a 1 cent increase over the February 1999 report of 96 cents per gallon. This represents the first increase in the average price since October 1998. The current price is still 11.1 cents cheaper than the March 1998 average price of $1.081 per gallon. The national average prices for self-serve regular unleaded gasoline for March in the last five years were: 1998, $1.081 per gallon; 1997, $1.271; 1996, $1.18; 1995, $1.116; and 1994, $1.065.
    AAA and AAA Texas commission their Fuel Gauge Reports as a service to consumers and the media. The reports are based on data gathered from March 12 - 15 by the Oil Price Information Service - the nation's most comprehensive source of petroleum pricing information. AAA Texas, an affiliate of the American Automobile Association, has been serving Texans since 1905. Today, AAA Texas offers its members a full service travel agency, auto-related services, financial services, public safety programs, and legislative advocacy.

    Note: The following is the March 1999 average price information for 15 Texas cities compared to December 1998, the last month a survey was conducted for these 15 cities. Because of interest in this issue, AAA Texas will now provide monthly Texas Fuel Gauge Reports of these cities through 1999.

                     AAA TEXAS FUEL GAUGE REPORT
        Average Price of Self-Serve Regular Unleaded Gasoline

Cities        March '99      Dec. '98
------        ---------      -------- 
Abilene        0.8927         0.9369
Amarillo       0.9169         0.9015
Austin         0.8826         0.9458
Beaumont       0.8593         0.9266
Brownsville    0.9114         0.8588
Corpus Christi 0.8569         0.8738
Dallas         0.9152         0.9634
El Paso        0.9385         0.9673
Fort Worth     0.8919         0.9477
Houston        0.8994         0.9633
Laredo         0.8960         0.9750
Longview       0.8951         0.8743
Lubbock        0.8871         0.8505
San Antonio    0.8569         0.9096
Waco           0.8470         0.9083

STATEWIDE      0.8909         0.9366

     Source: Fuel Gauge survey commissioned by AAA Texas.