Price of gas at new highs

Gasoline prices reached a record high on Friday as the ongoing pain at the pump for Americans continues to get more brutal ahead of the start of summer.

The national average for a gallon of regular increased to $4.432, according to AAA figures, eclipsing the previous all-time high of $4.331 set in mid-March and up from $3.028 a year earlier, according to AAA data.

The cost at the pump varied widely from state to state, with the most expensive average prices in California ($5.872) and Nevada ($5.136). The cheapest gallons could be found in Georgia ($3.954) and Kansas ($3.986).

New York’s prices on Friday set a state record of $4.683, though prices were way above that at gas stations in Manhattan, where one BP station charged credit-card prices of $6.999 for regular.

New Jersey also hit a record high of $4.502 per gallon on Friday, as more than 70 Garden State gas stations dropped their prices to spur the state to lift its only-inthe-nation ban on self service.

The state has been fullserve since 1949, when the Retail Gasoline Dispensing Safety Act went into effect with the goal of reducing fire hazards, limiting liability insurance for stations and minimizing customers’ exposure to toxic gas fumes.

Big Apple cab driver Phil Fleurant, 54, who was filling up at an Exxon station in Jersey City, said repealing the ban would be a good idea because of savings on price.

The national average price of a gallon of diesel also hit an all-time high of $5.560 on Friday. That’s an increase from $5.019 just a month ago and up from $3.150 a year ago, per AAA data.