IRVING, Texas (AP) - What a difference two years makes in the price of gasoline at pumps across Texas!

The AAA Texas gasoline price survey released Thursday shows unleaded regular averaging a penny less this week at $2.56 per gallon statewide. Nationally, the price average was unchanged at $2.72.

That's $1.42 less than the record $3.98 Texas motorists paid two years ago and $1.39 less than motorists paid nationwide.

The auto club statement credits crude oil price stability at between $69 and $79 per barrel, less consumption from past summers and greater use of ethanol.

The cheapest gasoline in Texas is in Houston, where regular averages a penny less than last week at $2.52 per gallon. The most expensive is in El Paso, where the average price is unchanged at $2.69 per gallon.

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