L.A. gas prices shoot past $4

An average gallon of regular is up more than 20 cents a gallon in just the past week, to $4.123, according to the government survey. That's a huge jump in a very short period of time, and there's a good chance that prices will keep increasing - perhaps nearing the $5 mark in the L.A. area. The reasons are many and varied: refinery closures, increases in fuel exports, speculators betting on higher oil prices, and concerns about Iranian crude supplies. Many of these factors had been anticipated - just not all at the same time. The question, of course, is at what point do higher fuel costs start to impact the economy.