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TRENTON, N.J. (AP) -- Gas prices climbed to new all-time record levels in New Jersey and around the nation after breaking records set in 2008 in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
AAA Mid-Atlantic says the average price of a gallon of regular gas in New Jersey on Friday was $4.37, up from $3.89 a gallon last week. Drivers were paying $2.90 a gallon on average a year ago at this time.
The national average price for a gallon of regular gasoline was $4.33, up from $3.83 a gallon last week. Drivers were paying $2.82 a gallon on average a year ago at this time.
Crude prices surged to their highest levels since 2008 but retreated slightly in the middle of the week amid speculation that some oil-producing countries may increase supply, but the fear of additional bans on Russian oil and gas imports pushed prices back up Friday, analysts said.
Tracy Noble, spokesperson for AAA Mid-Atlantic, said Americans may have reached a "tipping point” in deciding to make changes to their lifestyle to offset the rise in prices at the pump.
Gas prices tend to rise significantly around the March and April switch to summer blend gasoline (which has a lower volatility to limit evaporative emissions that normally increase with warm weather). AAA expects prices to decline as they normally would after the summer, but if crude prices remain high, so will gas prices, analysts said.