Phila. gas price is - unchanged!

Here's something that hasn't happened in a while: The average gas price in the Philadelphia area didn't change overnight.

The five-county Philly area saw its average for a gallon of regular no-lead remain at $2.58 this morning, according to AAA Mid-Atlantic.

South Jersey's average moved up 1 cent, to $2.40. The national average moved up 2 cents overnight, to $2.59.

Today, 32 states and Washington have an average gas gas price at $2.50 or above.

A year ago, the Philly area was paying an average $4.05 a gallon; South Jersey was paying an average $3.88; and the national average was $3.99.

The average for diesel was up 2 cents in the Philly area, to $2.67. South Jersey's average also was up 2 cents, to $2.34.

The national diesel average was up 3 cents overnight, to $2.48.

Meanwhile, oil prices spiked briefly above $70 a barrel for the first time since October on the back of a U.S. Labor Department report that showed the pace of layoffs eased in May.

The unemployment rate, at 9.4 percent, is still the highest in more than 25 years. But the 345,000 loss in payrolls in May was better than previous months and strengthened hopes that the recession in the world's largest economy may be bottoming out.

Benchmark crude for July delivery hit $70.32 per barrel, the highest since October, after the data. It then fell back to $69.70 a barrel by afternoon in European electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. On Thursday the contract shot up $2.69 to settle at $68.81.

Crude's stellar rise - it now fetches roughly twice what it did only four months ago - is leading analysts to revise forecasts upward, with many now saying they expect a barrel to cost $80 or more by year's end.