Motorists are seeing slightly higher prices at the pumps in New Jersey.

AAA Mid-Atlantic says the average price of a gallon of regular gasoline in New Jersey on Friday was $3.49, up 3 cents from last week. But that's also much lower than the price from a year ago, when motorists were paying $3.69.

The price boost ends a five-week stretch where pump prices had fallen in New Jersey.

Lowest Gas Prices in New Jersey
New Jersey Gas Prices provided by GasBuddy.com

The national average price was $3.59, up 5 cents from last week. But that's still much lower than the national average from a year ago, when motorists were paying $3.83.

Analysts say the rising prices are due to higher crude oil prices, an increase spurred mostly by rising tensions and violence in the Middle East and northern Africa.

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