Gas prices rise 14 cents over last week

Gas prices have jumped nearly 14 cents since last week as crude oil supplies dropped and political unrest in Egypt spurred worries about disruptions in supplies.

Nationwide, a gallon of regular gas now costs an average of $3.61, up from $3.47 a week ago, according to the AAA Fuel Gauge Report. It was up 1 cent from Sunday.

In California, the average price rose 4 cents a gallon to $4.02 from $3.98 a week ago. Experts say the price could climb even higher in the coming weeks as Americans hit the road on summer vacations.

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Companies are increasing production in the U.S. through new drilling techniques, including fracking, that have enabled the country to tap previously unreachable energy sources and meet 89% of its own energy needs in March. However, the nation still imports a lot of crude oil from the Middle East.

Prices at the pump have started climbing as chaos roils Egypt, where the military recently ousted democratically elected President Mohamed Morsi after only one year in office.

Although the country does not produce oil, it controls the Suez Canal and therefore has power over a major shipping lane that moves millions of barrels of the world’s oil supply daily. There are also concerns that the chaos may spread more broadly across North Africa and the Middle East, which is home to about a third of the world’s oil production.

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