Gas prices on the rise at the Jersey Shore

    Motorists are seeing sharply higher prices at Jersey Shore gas pumps.

    AAA Mid-Atlantic says the average price of a gallon of regular gas in the New Jersey on Friday was $2.36. That’s up 7 cents from last week.

    According to Gas Buddy, prices at the Jersey Shore currently range from $2.19 to $2.42 for a gallon of regular gas. 

    In Monmouth and Ocean counties, the current average is $2.387 (up more than 8 cents from last week), while it’s slightly lower at $2.363 in Atlantic and Cape May counties (up 7 cents from last week), according to AAA. 

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    Motorists were paying $1.87 for gas last year. A 23-cents-per-gallon gas tax increase went into effect Nov. 1.

    The national average gas price on Friday was $2.38, also up 7 cents from last week. That’s also much higher than the national average from a year ago, when motorists were paying $2.04.

    AAA says the higher prices at the pump are mainly due to rising oil prices and the switchover to summer-blend gasoline, and they’re expected to continue rising.

    Patrick DeHaan, a senior petroleum analyst for GasBuddy.com, tells USA Today that he doesn’t think the average nationwide price will hit $3 before Memorial Day weekend, adding that prices should remain constant in the middle to upper $2 range throughout the summer unless a hurricane threatens. 

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    The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

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