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Gasoline prices have hit record prices in Virginia -- again.

AAA Mid-Atlantic says the average price for self-serve regular gas hit $1.62 agallon today.

The breaks the record high set last year just before the war in Iraq.

The nationwide average is just a penny shy of doing the same thing, at $1.73 a gallon for self-serve regular gas.

AAA spokeswoman Martha Rowe Mitchell says OPEC's decision to cut production as of March first, rising crude oil cost and political unrest in Venezuela are being blamed for the rising costs.

Mitchell says the prices may go higher.

WFLS News has re-activated the "Pump Patrol." This year listeners can now go to the station's web site and log in where they have found the Fredericksburg area's lowest gas prices.

Mitchell says local retailers have not been passing price increases on to their customers at the same rate that crude oil prices have been increasing. But the latest hikes could change that, because retailers may no longer be able to afford to NOT pass along the higher prices.

On the Net:

WFLS Pump Patrol

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Date published: 3/9/2004

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