The Biggest Jump at the Pump

18-Cent Weekly Hike Sets 15-Year Record

By Justin Blum and Anjali Athavaley
Washington Post Staff Writers
Tuesday, August 16, 2005; Page A01

Motorists pulling up to the pump at the Cardinal Plaza Shell station in Springfield got a price shock several times last week. On Tuesday, the station owner bumped the price of a gallon of regular up 3 cents; on Wednesday, he nudged it 4 more cents. On Friday, he got bolder: His price jumped 23 cents.

The steady increases in Springfield -- and across the nation -- pushed up the average price of a gallon of gas by 18 cents in the past week, the biggest one-week jump since the Energy Department began compiling the data 15 years ago. The average national price of a gallon of regular was $2.55 yesterday, up 36 percent over a year ago.