AAFES gas prices across Europe will jump at least 11 cents a gallon Saturday on the heels of another record-setting week of skyrocketing U.S. fuel costs.

The highest prices show up again in the Netherlands, where the cheapest grade available runs $4.481 and diesel hurtles to $5.096 – an increase of 36.7 cents per gallon.

The average price of gas has jumped more than 46 cents in the past seven weeks, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Prices also set records for a seventh straight week in the U.S. and at the Army and Air Force Exchange Service pumps.

At $3.889 a gallon, regular gas in Germany remains the cheapest available to U.S. troops in Europe. Premium and diesel are both now above $4 a gallon, and midgrade is just a fraction below that mark.

Prices in the United Kingdom range from $3.935 a gallon for midgrade to $4.436 for diesel, according to an AAFES release.

Lt. Col. David Konop, spokesman for AAFES in Europe, announced Thursday that beginning next week, the cost AAFES adds to cover the cost of dispensing fuel to customers will also increase.

The exchange blames a stronger euro for driving up the costs of personnel, running the coupon program and other expenses, all of which are figured into its dispensing costs. Beginning May 24, those costs will add an additional 4.2 cents per gallon in Germany, 3.5 cents in the United Kingdom and 2.8 cents in the Netherlands.

Adjustments to AAFES dispensing costs are made once a year based on the previous year’s expenses.

This week’s prices are just below the peak of $3.73 per regular gallon projected by the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Daily price data on the AAA Web site indicated Thursday’s national average had surged to $3.77, which could mean even higher prices for AAFES customers next week. Oil futures traded above $126 a barrel Thursday, another new record. Fuel industry analysts have blamed the high cost of crude for much of the recent surge in prices.

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