Austin Gas Prices Continue To Fall

The price of gasoline continues its downward slide ahead of the holiday travel season. More than 7.5 million Texans prepare to travel 50 miles or more for the holidays, according to a AAA survey.

A gallon of regular unleaded is selling for an average of $3.04 in the Austin-San Marcos metropolitan area, AAA’s Fuel Gauge Report says. That’s a decrease of five cents over the last week. It’s 12 cents less than the price a month ago.

But gas prices are still higher than they were this time last year, when a gallon of regular unleaded sold for an average of $2.81 in the Austin area.

The lowest gas in the city as of this posting is selling for $2.88 at three locations off Research Boulevard in North Austin, according what people have reported to AustinGasPrices.com.

But $3 gas could disappear next year, according to a survey of energy industry analysts polled by Bloomberg News, because of limited oil supplies and growing demand in developing nations.

However, if the European debt crisis worsens prices could decline, and if tensions between Iran and the United States intensify, prices could surge.

“The risk of a euro- zone explosion isn't a little bearish, it's a lot bearish. The risk of an escalation of the Iranian situation isn't a little bullish, it's a lot bullish,” Mike Wittner, the head of oil-market research at Societe Generale in New York told Bloomberg News.