Gas expected to spike again

WASHINGTON - Don't be stunned if you see gas prices jump 5 cents to 10 cents in the next week or two.

AAA Mid-Atlantic spokesman John Townsend says this year the region won't see the post-July 4 price drop.

"The price of crude oil is like the Frankenstein monster running amok," Townsend says.

Gas prices just haven't kept up with the price of oil.

"How much longer can these (market) forces keep the pressure back? It's almost like the boy with his finger in the dike and that dike may break any time soon," Townsend says.

"We have this pent up pressure in the price situation and it may break loose in the next week or so."

In the metro area, a gallon of regular last week averaged $4.09. That's a record high and $1.17 more than a year ago.

Nationally, gas last week averaged $4.11 a gallon, compared with $2.96 a gallon a year ago.

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