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While the national average price of gasoline is nowhere near the record highs of last summer, it has been on a bit of a climb lately, jumping about ten cents over the past week, and is now at $2.63 per gallon.

At this time last year the price of gasoline was $3.84 per gallon — nearly 50% higher — so today’s average price really isn’t all that bad, comparatively speaking.

However, the glass-half-empty part of me would also like to point out that the price of gas is still $1 higher than the lows hit back in January of this year.Â With the economy still kind of sluggish and the ranks of unemployed growing, even a slight increase in the price we pay at the pump can make a dent in our finances.

The state with the lowest average price is South Carolina, with an average price of $2.38 per gallon.Â There are currently eight states with an average gas price below $2.50 per gallon.

The state with the highest average price is Hawaii, with an average price of $3.11 per gallon.Â Hawaii, Alaska and California are the only states with an average gas price above $3 per gallon.

It will be interesting to see where the price of gas goes from here.Â A lot of it will be tied to what people feel will happen with the economy.Â If economic data continues to show that the economy is bottoming, if not improving, the price of gas will likely continue to climb higher, although probably not by much.Â However, if data comes out and shows that things are actually getting worse with the economy, the price of gas will head back down.