Gas here jumps almost 40 cents in a few weeks

The average price for a gallon of regular gasoline in Seattle reached $3.475 on Monday, up more than 39 cents from $3.081 in late January, according to a survey by the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

The national average for the same grade of gasoline was $3.225, the EIA said. The surge comes amid soaring crude oil prices that have broken the inflation-adjusted record set during the oil shock of the early 1980s.

The Seattle price is exactly average for the West Coast, according to the EIA data.

Gas prices are higher in western Washington than in most of the U.S. because the region lacks pipelines connecting it to the core of the U.S. refining system, whose main hubs lie in the Mid-West, Texas and Louisiana.

Most of the oil consumed here is processed locally, and although local refineries are pumping more gasoline than ever to supply Washington, Oregon and California, their productin capacity has only grown by 4 percent since 2000, according to a report last year by the state's Attorney General. Taxes are a significant contributor to the price of gasoline: at 54.4 cents per gallon, Washington consumers pay more taxes than anyone else in the country.

Gas prices in Washington were on average the 16th highest among the 50 U.S. states, according to the Attorney General's report.