Gas prices surge 17 cents in a week

As the turmoil in the Middle East and North Africa escalates, America's dependency for foreign oil must stop. With the weak dollar making the barrel of oil very expensive, it is impossible to hear our politicians gripe about this dilemma. In fact, higher pump price means more tax revenue for Washington, D.C. Since 1974 during the Nixon Administration, politicians want the USA to be less dependent on foreign oil. Ironically, it has been more than 30 years and the same politicians are still talking about it. Currently, alternative energy is decades away. The electric cars currently available are not what the consumers had in mind. America is current sitting on a massive depot of untapped oil, but afraid to touch it. It is time to be more proactive and tap into that resource, and at the same time, we must continue to improve all forms of alternative engergy. Like the old adage, "Why live for tomorrow if we can't live today."

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Gas prices have increased nearly 17 cents a gallon in the past week. And analysts expect prices to continue higher, following a sharp rise in the price of crude oil.

The national average price for a gallon of regular gas rose 4.3 cents to $3.33, motorist group AAA said Saturday. That marks the fourth day in a row that prices have risen, and brings the national average to the highest level since October 2008.

Tom Kloza, chief oil analyst at the Oil Price Information Service, said gas prices' 6-cent jump reported Friday was the largest one-day increase since at least 2008.

Analysts expect prices to continue rising over the next few days, since gas prices typically lag trends in the oil market.

The spike in oil last week could translate to an increase in gas prices of 37 cents per gallon in the coming weeks, according Moody's Analytics economist Chris Lafakis. He estimates that for every $1 increase in the price of oil, retail gas prices typically rise 2.5 cents a gallon.

Economists warn that an energy price shock could hurt the economic recovery in the United States. In general, every $1 increase in the price of oil costs consumers $1 billion over the course of a year.

That's concerning because consumer spending makes up the bulk of U.S. gross domestic product, the broadest measure of economic growth.