According to AAA Mid-Atlantic, Virginia residents are paying more for gasoline than they've ever paid before.

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The average price for a gallon of regular unleaded gas in the Old Dominion is now $1.61, which ties the record high set last year just prior to the war in Iraq.

AAA spokeswoman Martha Rowe Mitchell said OPEC's decision to cut production as of March 1, rising crude oil cost and political unrest in Venezuela are being blamed for the rising costs. And, Mitchell said the prices may go higher.

She said local retailers have not been passing price increases on to their customers at the same rate that crude oil prices have been increasing.

However the latest hikes could change that, because retailers may no longer be able to afford to not pass along the higher prices.