Phila.-area pump averages up 1 cent

The average at the pumps went up overnight by 1 cent, according to AAA Mid-Atlantic.

The five-county Philadelphia area was averaging $2.82 for a gallon of regular no-lead, the auto club said.

South Jersey's average stood at $2.64.

The national average was $2.76.

The average for diesel also advanced in all three of those spots: to $3.17 in the Philly area, to $2.85 in South Jersey, and to $2.92 in the country overall.

Although all three of those geographic categories have surpassed the highest averages paid last year, they fall short of the highest averages ever recorded, which all sit firmly in the low $4 range and were recorded in June and July of 2008.

Meanwhile, oil prices slid below $80 a barrel after China moved to curb bank lending and a report showed an unexpected jump in U.S. inventories of distillates and gasoline.

At the early afternoon in Europe, benchmark crude for February delivery was down 91 cents to $79.88 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. On Tuesday, the contract fell $1.73 to settle at $80.79.

Oil prices rose to a 15-month high near $84 a barrel earlier this week amid expectations that a spell of bitter cold in parts of the United States, Europe and Asia would boost demand for oil distillates such as heating oil. In other Nymex trading in February contracts, heating oil fell 2.85 cents to $2.1033 a gallon and gasoline dropped 3.09 cents to $2.0669 a gallon. Natural gas futures skidded 7.8 cents to $5.513 per 1,000 cubic feet.

In London, Brent crude for February delivery fell 85 cents to $78.45 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.