Gas prices jump in Vancouver, across state

2014 peak: Washington, $4.01; and Vancouver, $3.99, both July 4

2015 low: Washington, $2.13 on Feb. 2 and Vancouver, $2.10 on Feb. 1

Tuesday prices: Washington, $2.76, Vancouver, $2.86

It’s time to put more money for gasoline back into the family budget.

The average cost of regular gasoline in Vancouver this week climbed to $2.86 per gallon, AAA Oregon/Idaho reported Tuesday. That’s up 37 cents in a single week, and 74 cents in the past month.

Statewide, the average climbed by 30 cents, to $2.76 per gallon, The one week hike was the third highest in the nation, behind California, at 43 cents, and Oregon, which saw an average 34 cent increase at gas pumps. The national average of $2.44 per gallon was up 13 cents for the week, all according to AAA.

Of course, no one expected the recent low gas prices to last forever, just as the current run of sunny days won’t continue forever. Prices typically rise by 30 to 50 cents per gallon in the spring to account for refinery maintenance and adjustments to summer fuel blends, AAA noted. But the recent increase in the West was more sudden and more dramatic than expected.

It’s not that the basic economics of the oil industry have changed overnight: there still is an oversupply of oil and little growth in worldwide demand. What’s changed is more mundane: outages at West Coast refineries and an explosion last week at the ExxonMobil refinery in Torrance, Calif., have pushed prices up more rapidly on the West Coast than in other areas, said AAA Oregon/Idaho.

Still, prices haven’t returned to last winter’s levles. In Vancouver, motorists paid $3.42 for a gallon of gasoline last March. Using a larger frame of reference, the price of gasoline in Vancouver peaked in June 2008 at $4.35 per gallon

The oil market remains volatile, with U.S. oil rigs curbing production due to a worldwide oversupply and shrinking profit margins. But Libya is reportedly increasing production and Iran is expanding its exports, AAA said in its most recent report.

Even as the historic decline in prices fades, motorists can look back fondly on the recent months when gasoline purchase cost less .

Average prices in the Portland-Vancouver metro area dropped 53 consecutive days for a total of 81 cents per gallon from December 8 until January 30, according to AAA’s surveys.

As prices dropped nationwide, researchers offered their best estimates of how much consumers would save. IHS Global Insight estimated last year that the average family could save $750 this year due to lower gasoline prices, the Wall Street Journal reported in December. President Barack Obama used that figure in his State of the Union address, saying that ” thanks to lower gas prices and higher fuel standards, the typical family this year should save about $750 at the pump.”

Time will tell how that and other estimates will play out as the market adjusts to complex industry dynamics. But for now, its motorists who are adjusting to paying more than what they paid a month ago.

The higher costs particularly hurt those who drive the most. Shannon Stewart, operations manager at Vancouver Cab Co., said drivers expected prices to rise but still feel pain at the pump. Instead of spending $25 to $30 per day on gasoline, driver are now paying $35 to 40, she said

“We had quite a wonderful December and January, but it’s creeping back up,” she said of fuel prices. For drivers, she said, the return of higher prices “has an incredible, incredible effect on their earnings.”