The average for a gallon of regular no-lead was unchanged at $2.74 for the fifth day in the five-county Philadelphia area, according to AAA Mid-Atlantic.

South Jersey's average continued at $2.52, for the third day.

The national average remained at $2.68, also for the third day.

Diesel prices followed suit, remaining unchanged for much of the week: $3.04 in the Philly area, $2.74 in South Jersey, and $2.83 in the nation overall.

Meanwhile, oil prices lost more than $2 to stumble below $78 a barrel as rising U.S. unemployment figures renewed concerns about the economic recovery and consumer demand.

At mid-afternoon in Europe, benchmark crude for December delivery was down $2.16 to $77.46 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell 78 cents to settle at $79.62 on Thursday.

The U.S. Labor Department said the economy lost 190,000 jobs in October, while the unemployment rate jumped to 10.2 percent from 9.8 percent in September.

JBC Energy, an analyst firm in Vienna, said that if the unemployment rate rises "substantially above . . . 10.15 percent in 2010, U.S. gasoline demand is likely to erode further."

JBC said two-thirds of the fall in demand would result from less travel by the unemployed while the rest would be caused by the reduction of disposable income.