Asheville gas prices jump

Jason Sandford

Jason Sandford is a reporter, writer, blogger and photographer interested in all things Asheville.

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I noticed today that gas prices jumped 10 cents today. Over the weekend, gas prices on my street were $1.59. Today, they were $1.69. Are we in for another roller coaster ride?

From Reuters:

WASHINGTON, Jan 5 (Reuters) – U.S. retail gasoline prices have risen for the first time in 16 weeks as higher crude oil costs were reflected at the pump, the government said on Monday.

The national price for regular unleaded gasoline jumped 7.1 cents over the last week to $1.68 a gallon, but was still down $1.43 from a year ago, the federal Energy Information Administration said in its weekly survey of service stations.

Even though fuel costs increased, it was still the lowest pump price during the first week of a new year since 2004, according to the Energy Department’s analytical arm.

Still, gasoline prices are up because of higher crude oil costs, which have soared from about $35 a barrel since Israel took military action against Gaza on Dec. 27 to $48 a barrel in trading on Monday at the New York Mercantile Exchange.