AAA Texas: Weekend Gas Watch; Pump Prices Begin to Stabilize.

HOUSTON -- Retail gasoline prices appear to be stabilizing following the biggest one-week price spike ever recorded, according to AAA Texas' Weekend Gas Watch.

The statewide average price for regular self-serve skyrocketed to $2.939 a gallon - up 31.1 cents in only a week. The current average is $1.021 higher than last year's average.

"Consumers are paying a dollar more for a gallon of gasoline than what they paid only a year ago," said Rose Rougeau, spokesperson for AAA Texas. "The recent price spikes following Hurricane Katrina were due to several refineries and oil pipelines in Louisiana and the Gulf Coast being shut down due to hurricane damage. However, we've seen prices begin to level out in many Texas communities during the past two days, so we may have seen the peak."

The national average for regular self-serve gasoline is $3.030 a gallon - a weekly increase of 35 cents.

AAA Texas' Weekend Gas Watch monitors the average price of gasoline at popular destinations for automobile trips.

Average Daily Prices as of 12:01 A.M., September 9, 2005:

                                             Weekly
Area                            9/9/05       Change        9/2/05
----                            ------       ------        ------
National                        $3.030     35.0 cents      $2.680
State                           $2.939     31.1 cents      $2.628
Austin-San Marcos               $2.902     32.5 cents      $2.577
Beaumont                        $2.889     29.8 cents      $2.591
Corpus Christi                  $2.827     31.6 cents      $2.511
Dallas                          $2.994     30.2 cents      $2.692
Ft. Worth                       $2.977     30.4 cents      $2.673
Galveston-Texas City            $2.967     33.2 cents      $2.635
Houston                         $2.955     32.4 cents      $2.631
San Antonio                     $2.880     31.7 cents      $2.563


                           Weekly                              2004
Area            8/19/05    Change    8/12/05 New Record High  Average
----            -------    ------    ------- ---------------  -------
National        $2.586  +18.9 cents  $2.397  $3.057 (9/5/05)  $2.038
State           $2.536  +22.0 cents  $2.316  $2.964 (9/4/05)  $1.918
Austin-
 San Marcos     $2.483  +20.7 cents  $2.276  $2.918 (9/6/05)  $1.909
Beaumont        $2.520  +23.9 cents  $2.281  $2.930 (9/4/05)  $1.899
Corpus Christi  $2.474  +19.3 cents  $2.281  $2.929 (9/3/05)  $1.880
Dallas          $2.600  +23.9 cents  $2.361  $3.019 (9/4/05)  $1.922
Ft. Worth       $2.587  +24.2 cents  $2.345  $3.012 (9/4/05)  $1.922
Galveston-
 Texas City     $2.581  +24.6 cents  $2.335  $2.997 (9/4/05)  $1.913
Houston         $2.562  +24.2 cents  $2.320  $2.971 (9/6/05)  $1.900
San Antonio     $2.464  +19.9 cents  $2.265  $2.909 (9/4/05)  $1.928