Average fuel prices fall across Austin

AUSTIN (AP/KXAN) - Retail gasoline prices are falling this week heading into the July 4th holiday.

The weekly AAA Texas gasoline price survey released Thursday shows the average price of regular unleaded self-serve fell by four cents this week to $2.49 per gallon. It also fell four cents nationally to an average of $2.63.

Auto club spokeswoman Sara Schimmer says July 4th is the time of year when gasoline prices often peak. If so, they've peaked at a level nearly $1.50 per gallon below last summer's high.

Texarkana has the cheapest gasoline in this week's survey at $2.43, seven cents below last week. The highest was in El Paso, where the average price fell three cents to $2.58 per gallon.

The average price for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline in the Austin-San Marcos area is $2.498. That’s about 4 cents cheaper than this time last week. Last year at this time, we were paying around $3.952 a gallon.