The average gallon of self-serve regular in the Los Angeles area was up 3 cents Monday to $2.766 after surging 11 cents a week earlier, according to the federal Energy Information Administration.

While the smaller per-gallon hike for the week ended Aug. 22 suggests the latest run-up in gas prices is slowing in L.A., prices are now 71.3 cents higher than they were a year ago. They were $2.736 for the week ended Aug. 15.

Statewide, prices rose to $2.750 from $2.716 last week, 69.9 cents higher than year-ago rates.

California still had the highest gas prices in the nation, and Chicago gained 10 cents to tie with San Francisco as the priciest city, at $2.786.

Minnesota was the lowest-priced state of the areas surveyed, at $2.543 per gallon, and the city with cheapest gas was Houston, which gained 10.7 cents to $2.565 per gallon.