Phila. region’s gas prices take no holiday

Prices at the gas pump took no holiday. The numbers continued to climb, according to figures available today from AAA Mid-Atlantic.

The average for a gallon of regular no-lead was $3.97 in the five-county Philadelphia region; if you bought gas there on Friday, you were paying a "mere" average of $3.91.

Across the river in South Jersey, the average this morning was $3.81, up from $3.74 on Friday.

At the national level, the average price rose over the long weekend to $3.94, from $3.88.

The average for diesel moved from $4.89 Friday to $4.96 in the Philadelphia region; from $4.63 to $4.73 in South Jersey; and from $4.65 to $4.77 at the national level.

Oil held steady above $133 a barrel today on worries about global petroleum supplies and the outlook for the U.S. dollar.

Reports of an attack by militants on an oil pipeline in Nigeria, one of Africa's largest oil exporters, also suppressed prices.

Light, sweet crude for July delivery was up 98 cents from Friday at $133.17 a barrel in electronic trade on the New York Mercantile Exchange by noon in Europe.