While the one-day jump of 13 cents a gallon at a local gas station that I cited three entries ago appears to have been an aberration, my fear that prices at the pump are on their way back up has been confirmed.

Driving from Kingston to the town of Ulster this morning, I noticed that Stewart's at Albany and Foxhall avenues had jumped from $1.58 to $1.64, QuickChek on Albany Avenue had gone from $1.59 to $1.64, and Stewart's at Morton Boulevard and Boice's Lane had risen from $1.58 to $1.65. The only station resisting the trend was Hess on Ulster Avenue, which remained at $1.58, but I'm sure that price will jump in the near future now that all the surrounding stations are charging more.

I can't help but wonder, though: Are the days of 1- and 2-cent increases gone forever? Do the gas price hikes need to be so large? It seems to me that people would be less angry about a 5- or 10-cent jump if it played out over the course of a week or two, rather than occurring overnight.