© 2024 Texas Public Radio
Real. Reliable. Texas Public Radio.
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Texas gas prices reach 7-year high

Shutterstock
/
Shutterstock

Texas drivers are paying, on average, about $3.05 for a gallon of gas. A year ago, the average was about $1.88 per gallon.

Daniel Armbruster, a spokesperson for AAA Texas, said demand for gas is quickly outpacing supply.

“A lot of that's likely due to more people getting vaccinated for COVID-19,” he said. “More people are returning to the office and we're also seeing a lot more people starting to take vacations and travel. So we'll likely continue to see demand go up, especially around Thanksgiving time.”

Demand for crude oil has also increased, which Armbruster said has direct impacts on the price of gas.

“Crude oil makes up about 50 to 60 & of what we pay at the pump at the retail level,” he said. “Certainly as crude oil prices have been going up, and today they're at $83 a barrel, we're going to see gas prices continue to go up as well.”

Armbruster said there’s no end to the rising prices in sight either.

“In fact, demand for gasoline continues to increase with each passing week as we go through 2021,” he said.

Even so, demand for gas has not yet reached pre-pandemic levels.

Armbruster said if drivers want to save a little bit of money on gas, he recommends avoiding quick starts and stops, lightening your load by taking any extra items out of the car and making sure your tires are in good condition and properly inflated.

“Underinflated tires are not only dangerous for the roadway, they also take away from your fuel economy,” he said.

KERA News is made possible through the generosity of our members. If you find this reporting valuable, consider making a tax-deductible gifttoday. Thank you.

Got a tip? Email Rebekah Morr at rmorr@kera.org. You can follow her on Twitter @bekah_morr.

Copyright 2021 KERA. To see more, visit KERA.

Bekah Morr is KERA's Morning Edition producer. She came to KERA from NPR headquarters in Washington, D.C., where she worked as a news assistant at Weekend All Things Considered. While there, she produced stories and segments for a national audience, covering everything from rising suicide rates among police officers, to abuse allegations against Nike coaches and everything in between. Before that, she interned for a year on Think with Krys Boyd, helping to research, write and produce the daily talk-show. A graduate of the University of Texas at Arlington, Bekah spent her formative journalism years working at the student news organization The Shorthorn. As editor in chief, she helped create the publication’s first, full-color magazine.