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Gas prices in region surpass $3 a gallon

By Don Shilling

Friday, November 16, 2007

The Mahoning Valley has the cheapest gas in the state.

By DON SHILLING

VINDICATOR BUSINESS EDITOR

There are some stations with gas for less than $3 a gallon — you’ll just have to drive a ways to get there.

Six eastern and southern states have an average gas price of under $3, with New Jersey being the lowest at $2.91.

Don’t want to drive to New Jersey? How about Salem? At $3.02 a gallon, a Dairy Mart on South Lincoln Avenue just may have the cheapest gas in the Mahoning and Shenango valleys.

No other area station had prices under $3.06 Thursday, according to MSN Autos, a Web site that publishes gas prices based on credit card transactions. A worker at the Salem Dairy Mart confirmed Thursday afternoon that the store still was charging $3.02.

Most likely, however, you are going to have to pay more to buy gas locally. Most stations listed on the MSN Autos site had prices ranging from $3.09 to $3.11.

The prices were consistent throughout the area, although stations in Garrettsville and Southington were charging $3.19. Prices in the Hermitage-Sharon, Pa., area ranged from $3.09 to $3.18.

The average price of regular gas in Pennsylvania is $3.11, which also is the national average, based on surveys by the AAA. Ohio’s average price is running two cents higher.

The average price in the Youngstown-Warren metropolitan area, however, is the lowest in Ohio, AAA said. The area’s average price for regular gas Thursday was $3.10, which was down three cents from the day before. A year ago, the area’s average price $2.16.

Cleveland had the highest average price in the state Thursday at $3.14.

shilling@vindy.com