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The national average price of a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline climbed by 1.1 cents today – up from $3.68 to $3.691 – marking the first daily price increase in 43 days.

Since hitting its record high of $4.12 per gallon on July 16, the price of gasoline has fallen or remained steady, up until this morning.

Currently, only Hawaii and Alaska are reporting state-wide average gas prices above $4 per gallon, at $4.55 and $4.40, respectively. New Jersey has the lowest state-wide average gas price at $3.44 per gallon.

But, keep in mind, while the recent price declines have come as a welcome relief, we’re still paying more than a third more for gas than we were just a year ago.

Today’s slight price increase is more than likely due to fears that Hurricane Gustav may cause significant damage to the Gulf’s oil refineries. The Gulf Coast is home to nearly 40% of the United State’s oil refining capacity, so should there be significant damage to these facilities, the price of gasoline will likely spike, and could soar well past the record high set back in the middle of July.

For example, in the days following Hurricane Katrina, the national average price of gas climbed from $2.60 to $3.05 – a jump of nearly 20%. Should the same thing happen – and right now it is considered very unlikely that Gustav will reach the same size as Katrina – the price of gasoline would climb to nearly $4.35 per gallon.

Again, as of right now, this certainly seems very unlikely, but that being said, you should probably go ahead and fill up your gas tanks tonight or tomorrow just to be on the safe side!