In Philly and beyond, pump prices rising

The average price of gas has gone up 6 cents in the last week in the country overall, with similar increases in the Philadelphia region, according to figures kept by AAA.

The national average is now $3.06, up 1 cent overnight.

This marks the highest average this year. The highest average on record is $4.11, from back in July 2008.

The national diesel average remained overnight at $3.31.

Gas in the five-county Philadelphia area remained overnight at $3.16 a gallon, on average, unchanged from yesterday but up 4 cents in the last week. This also marks a high for the year, but the highest price ever recorded for the area was $4.16, in June 2008.

Philly-area diesel averaged $3.54 today, up 1 cent overnight.

South Jersey saw an average of $2.96, unchanged overnight but up 4 cents from a week ago. This, too, marked a high price for the year. The highest ever recorded for South Jersey was $4 a gallon in June 2008.

Diesel in South Jersey was averaging $3.20 a gallon, up 2 cents overnight.

Crude oil for February delivery rose 49 cents, or 0.5 percent, yesterday to $91.49 a barrel, Bloomberg News reported. The contract reached $91.88 on Dec. 27, the highest intraday price since May 3, the news service said.    - Roslyn Rudolph