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

AAA Mid-Atlantic says the average price of regular gasoline in New Jersey on Friday was $3.84, up 15 cents from last week. That's also much higher than the price from a year ago, when motorists were paying $3.55.

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New Jersey Gas Prices provided by GasBuddy.com

Meanwhile, the national average price rose by 5 cents to $3.87. That's also much higher than the national average from a year ago, which was $3.63.

Analysts say the higher prices are mostly due to rising crude oil prices and various refinery-related issues. But they still expect gas prices will start falling in the coming weeks, as demand decreases and stations switch to less expensive winter blends.

However, if the newly announced Quantative Easing follows the same path as it predecessors, the price of commodities will remain high.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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