Phila. gas prices head back up

After a one-day reprieve, the price of gas in the five-county Philadelphia area went up overnight by 1 cent, to $3.11, according to AAA Mid-Atlantic.

South Jersey's average also was up 1 cent today, to $2.92, the auto club said, the same amount of increase in the national average, which stood today at $2.98.

Diesel averages also were up: by 1 cent, to $3.46, in the Philly area; by 2 cents, to $3.13, in South Jersey; and by 1 cent, to $3.24, at the national level.

Meanwhile, Oil prices rose above $89 a barrel in Asia as a weaker U.S. dollar made crude cheaper for investors with other currencies.

Benchmark oil for January delivery was up 94 cents to $89.22 a barrel at late-afternoon Singapore time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract lost 41 cents to settle at $88.28 on Wednesday.

Oil has hovered in the upper $80s this week - touching a two-year high of $90.76 on Tuesday - as traders mull how much global crude demand may grow in 2011.

Some analysts expect surging crude consumption in Asia and other emerging economies to continue to boost global demand next year. Global oil consumption rose to a record 86.7 million barrels a day in the third quarter and will likely jump to 88.1 million in 2011, according to energy consultant Wood Mackenzie.

About 85 percent of this year's global demand growth of 2.5 million barrels a day will come from developing countries, which will probably also account for 80 percent of demand growth next year and 2012, Wood Mackenzie said.

In other Nymex trading in January contracts, heating oil rose 1.9 cents to $2.48 a gallon, gasoline futures gained 2.7 cents to $2.33 a gallon and natural gas jumped 2.9 cents to $4.64 per 1,000 cubic feet.

In London, Brent crude rose 66 cents to $91.43 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.