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Gas average up 3 cents in Phila., elsewhere

Three cents more. That's how much the average for a gallon of regular no-lead went up over the weekend, according to AAA Mid-Atlantic.

Three cents more. That's how much the average for a gallon of regular no-lead went up over the weekend, according to AAA Mid-Atlantic.

The average in the five-county Philadelphia area was up to $2.61 today. South Jersey's average stood at $2.43.

The national average was $2.62.

The average for diesel also was up over the weekend: by 4 cents in the Philly area, to $2.71; by 5 cents in South Jersey, to $2.39. The national diesel average was up 4 cents, to $2.52.

Meanwhile, oil prices dropped below $68 as a rally that has roughly doubled the price of crude in four months lost some steam in the face of a still weak global economy.

Crude prices have risen in tandem with stocks as gloom about the global economy eased. But there is growing sentiment that the oil market may have overreached, leading investors to book profits.

Benchmark crude for July delivery was down 79 cents to fetch $67.65 a barrel by afternoon in European electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. On Friday, it settled down 37 cents at $68.44 after jumping as high as $70.32, the highest since October.

"I don't see the rally that we've had over the last couple of months as being sustainable," said John Vautrain, energy analyst at consultancy Purvin & Gertz in Singapore.

"Inventories are still growing and OPEC production cuts haven't been big enough to offset that," he said. "The major economies are still weak and we are still losing demand."