Nationwide, the average price of regular unleaded gasoline is up slightly from one month ago in advance of the expected announcement of a cut in crude oil production by OPEC nations, AAA said. Today’s average price of self-serve regular gasoline is $1.473, up .4 cent from $1.469 on Decem-ber 16, and 18.3 cents higher per gallon than last year, AAA’s daily online Fuel Gauge Report shows. Regionally, price movements have been mixed across the United States during the last month. Although gasoline prices had been falling during the Christmas and New Year holiday, they turned upward again in recent days on the expectation that OPEC countries will cut oil production in response to slowing economic activity in the United States. During the last month, prices increased 6.31 cents in the Great Lakes region to average $1.539. Prices are up an average 1.3 cents in the Midwest to $1.467 since mid-December. In the West, gasoline costs 9.2 cents less than in December, and now averages $1.593. Prices fell an average 7.2 cents in New England to average $1.524. Prices are down 4.9 cents in the Mid-Atlantic region and average $1.475. In the Southwest, prices fell 4.5 cents during the month to $1.42 per gallon. Prices declined the least in the Southeast during the month, down 1.1 cents to $1.41 per gallon. Nationwide, the price of self-serve, mid-grade averages $1.564 per gallon, a decrease of .3 cents from last month, but 19.4 cents more expensive than last year. Self-serve premium averages $1.621, down .4 cents since mid-December, but 20.2 cents higher than a year ago. The national average prices for self-serve regular unleaded gasoline for AAA’s January survey for the last five years were: 2000, $1.29; 1999, $.979; 1998, $1.159; 1997, $1.288; and 1996, $1.139.