U.S., Phila.-area gas average unchanged; oil at $92

The U.S. average for regular no-lead was unchanged overnight, after having hit a high of $3.17 over the weekend, AAA Mid-Atlantic reports, as oil prices surged to their highest level in more than two years over concerns about Libya.

The average in the five-county Philadelphia area was unchanged overnight at $3.22, but it went up 1 cent in South Jersey, to $3.02, a new high price.

Diesel prices were unchanged overnight, the auto club said, remaining at $3.57 for the U.S. average, $3.76 in the Philly area, and $3.46 in South Jersey.

Meanwhile, violence threatening Moammar Gadhafi's grip on Libya is seen as a threat to the country's sizable oil exports, raising concerns that violence would spread to other major oil producers in the Middle East.

Benchmark West Texas Intermediate jumped $6.73, nearly 7 percent, to $92 per barrel on the last trading day for the March contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Most of the trading already has switched to the April contract, which climbed $5.90, or 5.9 percent to $95.59 per barrel, the highest since Oct. 2, 2008.

Spanish oil company Repsol-YPF said Tuesday that it suspended production in Libya. Other oil companies, including Italy's Eni, Royal Dutch Shell PLC, U.K.-based BP and Germany's Wintershall, started pulling out employees. Meanwhile, key Libyan officials resigned and air force pilots defected amid a bloody crackdown on the protests.

Libya holds the most oil reserves in Africa and is the 12th-largest oil exporter at 1.53 million barrels per day, according to the Energy Information Administration.

Analysts said the world's economy could function without Libya's exports, which provide about 2 percent of world oil consumption. The main concern stalking markets is that revolts in the Middle East and North Africa will spread to OPEC heavyweights, particularly Iran, the group's second-largest producer.

Brent crude, which is delivered around the world and is considered a better reflection of global demand than WTI, added $1.26 at $107 per barrel on the ICE Futures Exchange. Brent is considered to be more sensitive to possible disruptions of Middle East oil supplies, while large U.S. stockpiles of crude are one of the reasons for the lower WTI prices.

In other Nymex trading in March contracts, heating oil rose 10 cents to $2.83 a gallon and gasoline gained 10.1 cents to $2.65 a gallon. Natural gas futures were unchanged at $3.878 per 1,000 cubic feet.