Closing costs paid by home buyers taking out a $200,000 mortgage in Hawai'i are about the same as the national average, according to a survey by Bankrate Inc.

The study found Hawai'i's closing costs — a total that includes origination fees and title and closing costs — were $2,739. That compared with the national average of $2,732.

Hawai'i closing costs ranked 21st most expensive in the nation, with Texas coming in first at $3,855 and Nevada last at $2,276.

The analysis showed costs were down from the national average of $3,118 last year. The study did not take into consideration that Hawai'i mortgages and closing costs may be higher in reality because of higher home prices here compared with most of the country.

GAS PRICES RISE FOR 5TH STRAIGHT WEEK

The average price of a gallon of regular gas in Hawai'i rose to $3.32 this week, the fifth consecutive weekly increase, according to the AAA Hawaii Weekend Gas Watch.

The Hawai'i average price was up 3 cents a gallon from a week earlier and 19 cents from a month ago.

In Honolulu the average price was $3.21 a gallon, up 4 cents from a week ago and 18 cents from a month ago.

The average price in Hilo was $3.34, up 3 cents from a week ago and 39 cents from the same time last month.

In Wailuku, the average price was $3.70, up 2 cents from the previous week and 26 cents from a month ago.

HAWAIIAN AIR FLIGHTS 85% FULL IN AUGUST

Hawaiian Airlines said it planes flew 85.4 percent full in August.

The state's largest airline said its August load factor was 3.3 percentage points higher than the same month a year earlier, when it was 82.1 percent.

Hawaiian said it flew a total of 746,646 passengers last month, a 2.9 percent increase from August 2008's 725,272.

For the first eight months of the year, Hawaiian's planes have flown 83.7 percent full, down fractionally from 83.8 percent for the same period a year earlier.

The airline has flown 5.59 million passengers year to date, up 4.7 percent from 5.34 million passengers for the same period last year.