Gas prices jumped dramatically last week both nationally and in the Portland-Vancouver metropolitan area, AAA Oregon/Idaho said.
In Vancouver, the price for a gallon of regular unleaded climbed to $3.52, up from $3.37 a week ago. The Oregon average jumped 161/2 cents to $3.51 a gallon, while the national average shot up 17 cents to $3.53 a gallon, AAA reported.
The last time gas prices increased more rapidly was Feb. 25 to March 4, 2011, a time of political turmoil in the Middle East. The most dramatic one-week increase on record is Aug. 28 to Sept. 4, 2005, when prices rose 46 cents in the days following Hurricane Katrina, according to AAA.
