US gasoline price jumps 10 cts in 1 week-govt Mon Apr 17, 2006 5:36pm ET
By Tom Doggett WASHINGTON, April 17 (Reuters) - The U.S. retail price for gasoline shot up 10 cents over the last week to an average $2.78 a gallon, the highest level since early October, and is expected to keep climbing, the government said on Monday.
The national average price for regular unleaded gasoline has soared 29 cents a gallon in the last three weeks and is up 55 cents from a year ago, based on the federal Energy Information Administration's weekly survey of service stations.
Pump prices are likely to go higher as the cost of U.S. crude oil settled at a new record high of $70.40 a barrel in trading on Monday at the New York Mercantile Exchange. Oil accounts for more than half the cost of making gasoline.