Petrol:Gas Prices have held steady all month just above or below the $3 mark, though they certainly have crossed the barrier. Fifteen states maintained average prices at the pump below three dollars, though they have seen sharp upward trends. Thirty-five states, fully seventy percent, are over the three-dollar mark, bringing the national average for a gallon of regular gas at the pump today to $3.096. Gas is most expensive in Alaska and Hawaii, as expected: both states have prices over $3.50. But in the contiguous states, California comes in priciest, with its $3.36 edging out New York by a penny. Gas is cheapest in Utah, but at $2.80 a gallon, I'm pretty certain no one is referring to it as "cheap gas." Granted, none of this approaches the five-dollar-a-gallon apocalypse foretold in July 2008, a fact for which I remain grateful. But keep an eye on this, as it not only eats away at your real earnings each week when you fuel up for the commute, but it also affects the prices of everything else from food to industry.
GrainSpeaking of food, grain prices have continued to rise
