Phila. region gas prices gain again

There is no break today at the gas pump, although that should come as no surprise.

The average price of fuel was up all around, according to figures released by AAA Mid-Atlantic.

The average price for a gallon of regular no-lead went up 2 cents in the five-county Philadelphia region to $4.01. That represents an increase of 10 cents in one week, and 38 cents in one month.

A year ago, the average in that same area was $3.09.

In South Jersey, the average was up a cent overnight, to $3.84. And that price also is up 10 cents in one week; and up 37 cents in one month.

A year ago, the average in South Jersey was $2.93.

At the national level, the average moved up a cent to $3.96. That represents an increase of 8 cents in one week, and 34 cents in one month.

A year ago, the national average was $3.19.

Diesel prices didn't change overnight: The average in the five-county Philadelphia region was $4.99; in South Jersey it was $4.76, and at the national level it was $4.79.

Crude oil prices have gained 33 percent this year as a 6 percent drop in the dollar versus the euro made crude a better value for buyers in other currencies, Bloomberg News reported. Still, oil is headed for its biggest weekly decline in 10 after a U.S. report yesterday showed gasoline use declining from a year earlier, Bloomberg said.

Crude oil for July delivery rose as much as $1.68, or 1.3 percent, to $128.30 a barrel, trading for $127.96 today on the New York Mercantile Exchange, Bloomberg reported, adding that the contract is nonetheless poised for a weekly decline of at least 3 percent, the most since March.