Gasoline prices rose as much as 22 cents in the Washington area last week, as prices nationwide posted the biggest weekly increase in the last five years.
Drivers are paying the price at the pump, heading into what could be a record-setting summer for gasoline costs.
| Gas prices rising | |||
| Area | Yesterday | Last week | Last month |
| District | $3.47 | $3.29 | $3.22 |
| Maryland | $3.36 | $3.14 | $3.09 |
| Virginia | $3.29 | $3.08 | $3 |
| AAA Daily Fuel Gauge Report | |||
It was the largest one-week increase since pump prices jumped 46 cents immediately following Hurricane Katrina in August 2005, according to the AAA Mid-Atlantic auto club, and the second biggest weekly gas price rise since 1990, when the U.S. Energy Information Administration began tracking weekly prices.
“Typically, it takes about two to three weeks before changes in crude oil prices manifests itself into higher prices at the retail level,” said John Townsend, AAA Mid-Atlantic spokesman. But political uprisings in North Africa and the Middle East are causing panic among oil traders and station owners alike, he said, causing the jump in prices at the pump.
“Service station owners and distributors are panicking and worrying about what the next wagon will cost them, and they are passing that cost to us in advance of the next shipment,” Townsend said.
In the District on Tuesday, prices were as low as $3.36 cents on U Street and as high as $4.55 cents at the Exxon in front of the Watergate complex on Virginia Avenue NW.
The standard pre-summer increases in gasoline prices compound the problems overseas, as refineries begin switching from winter blends to summer blends to meet Environmental Protection Agency requirements.
The Washington region is required by law to use reformulated gasoline, which is designed to reduce
pollution. The switch from winter to summer blends typically raises prices by 4 to 5 cents.
And despite what’s happening overseas, “we were still on track for having some of the most expensive springtime gas prices ever, with the exception of 2008,” Townsend said.
AAA officials were already predicting national averages between $3.40 and $3.50 per gallon, with a high of $3.75 during the summer. That growth was based on record winter fuel prices, Townsend said. This past Christmas was the first in which area gas prices reached $3 per gallon.
EIA officials said prices were still well below the record high of $4.11 per gallon, set on July 7, 2008.
Townsend recommends motorist buy gas early in the week, when prices tend to be lowest.
