Phila.-area gas stuck in the $2 zone

The average gas price has gotten stuck in the $2 zone in Philadelphia and its four surrounding counties, with a gallon of regular no-lead maintaining the price it hit yesterday, according to AAA Mid-Atlantic.

But there was a 1-cent decrease in the average in South Jersey (to $1.77, the first time the average there has gone down since Jan. 1) and at the national level (to $1.95).

Today, 14 states and Washington have a gas average at or above $2 (down from 15 states yesterday).

Diesel prices retreated by 1 cent in South Jersey (to $2.23) and at the national level (to $2.31), but remained steady at $2.62 in the Philly area.

Meanwhile, markets shrugged off a steady barrage of grim U.S. economic news to push oil prices above $35 a barrel, with a drop in the dollar encouraging investors to buy crude.

A report by the Fed predicting a sharper economic contraction and raising forecasts for unemployment was offset by a 1.1 percent drop in the dollar against the euro, to $1.2667. Oil tends to rise when the dollar drops as investors use the commodity as a hedge against inflation.

Light, sweet crude for March delivery jumped by $1.23 to $35.85 a barrel by midafternoon in Europe on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract on Wednesday fell 31 cents to settle at $34.62.

The March contract expires on Friday, and traders switched their focus to the April contract, which rose 62 cents to $38.03.