ROCKFORD -- Rockford motorists just can't get a break. One week after gas prices in the Stateline dropped to below the national average, they've spiked 35.7 cents in the past week, an average of more than 5 cents every day, according to GasBuddy.com. That puts the average price at $3.80, well above the national average of $3,62, The still leaves prices 16.2 cents lower than a month ago, when the Stateline was still recovering from the impact of spring floods which hurt fuel delivery and shut down refineries. Unfortunately, gas prices are expected to continue to rise as the price of a barrel of crude oil continues to go up. "Nationally, gasoline prices have begun moving upward yet again. I suspect that the unrest in Egypt is playing a significant role in pushing crude values higher, and thus retail gasoline prices higher as well," said GasBuddy.com Senior Petroleum Analyst Patrick DeHaan in a news release. "The market is seemingly quite sensitive to the situation in Egypt as the Energy Information Administration has reported two consecutive weeks of large declines in crude oil inventories, drawing concern that a loss in Middle Eastern crude would mean continued declines in inventories stateside," DeHaan said.

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