Gas Gauge: Yikes! Prices Jump as Much as 30 Cents a Gallon

This is the stuff that drives you crazy as a consumer—the operative word this sentence being "drive."

The price of oil actually dropped below $97 a barrel, but gas prices continue to go up. Why is that?

Apparently, there's a "fear premium" in the midst of pro-reform movements in Egypt and the Middle East that adds, like, $20 a barrel to the equation, according to a story by the San Francisco Chronicle.

Swell. Now we're paying for fear.

Here in Geneva, what that means is a "Leap to Nowhere" of as much as 30 cents a gallon at one station (BP on West State Street) over last week's price.

The Gas Gauge average price , on Washington's Birthday, was $3.28. Ouch enough, sure. But this week, as we close out the snowiest February in the history of our sleepy, enchanting river city, the average price of a gallon of regular is $3.521—up 24 cents.

As far as "good deals," the best of the bunch this week is a tie between the Citgo next to Duke & Lee's and the Meier gas station on Randall Road. Both tallied $3.49.

If you want to know more about Illinois gas prices, check out gasbuddy.com or the U.S. Energy Information Administration home page.

* Cost of a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline, not including the .9 cent kicker.