Houston gas prices rise, but there could soon be some reprieve
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Gas prices in Houston are going up and are much higher than they were last year, and even last month, according to GasBuddy.
Gas prices are 31.2 cents per gallon higher than they were a month ago, and are 74.9 cents per gallon higher than last year, with the highest gas price in the area being $3.19. There could be some good news, though.
"With oil prices finally sagging over the last week on inflation fears and worries about a surge in COVID-19 cases in Europe impacting oil demand, motorists filling their tanks may soon see a brief respite from rising gas prices," said Patrick De Hann, head of petroleum analysis for GasBuddy.
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GasBuddy surveys 2,559 stations daily. Houston gas prices have gone up .5 cents per gallon the past week, with an average price of $2.59 per gallon. That's compared to a national average of $2.86 per gallon. The national average is 22.2 cents per gallon higher from a month ago and 78.2 cents per gallon higher than last year.
"While gasoline demand last week rose to its highest level since the pandemic began, concerns that oil demand growth will stall with COVID-19 cases surging in Europe are eroding oil's recent rise," said De Hann. "While gas prices still rose in a majority of states last week, we may see some price decreases in the week or weeks ahead, even as U.S. gasoline demand continues to rally to the highest level since the pandemic started nearly a year ago. It'll be a bumpy road the next few weeks as markets sort out the bearish and bullish factors, but I still believe prices will likely experience more upward momentum ahead of Memorial Day."
Here are the current gas prices in some neighboring areas:
- Austin: $2.56/g, unchanged from last week's $2.56/g.
- Waco: $2.55/g, up 1.4 cents per gallon from last week's $2.54/g.
- College Station: $2.63/g, up 3.3 cents per gallon from last week's $2.59/g.
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