Gas prices hit 12th straight record

Retail gas prices hit record highs for the twelfth day in a row on Monday, according to motorist group AAA.

The nationwide average for a gallon of regular unleaded hit $3.794, up one tenth of a cent from Sunday's high of $3.93. Gas prices have now risen for 13 straight days.

The AAA national average shows gas prices up 9.2% from a month ago and up 19.4% from year-ago levels.

The pinch on consumers at the pump comes just ahead of the summer driving season, which kicks off with Memorial Day weekend. For the first time since 2002, Americans plan to drive less on the holiday weekend than they did the year before, with high gasoline prices in a weak economy a prime reason, according to a AAA study released Thursday.

Gas is now averaging more than $4 a gallon in Alaska and Connecticut, with Illinois, New York, and California within pennies of reaching that level as well.

Four dollars a gallon of regular unleaded happened in two metro areas as well in the latest biweekly Lundberg Survey: Chicago, at $4.07 and Long Island, New York, at $4.01. These areas had the highest average gas prices in the survey.

"That is the first time in history we have ever had two metro areas over $4 a gallon," said survey publisher Trilby Lundberg.

And there is a "high possibility" that the national average will reach $4 a gallon soon, Lundberg added.

"We are within 21 cents of $4 a gallon," said Lundberg. "There seems to be very good chance that we will reach it."

Both the Lundberg and AAA surveys look at thousands of gas stations across the country. The main reason for the price hike was record highs in crude oil prices, according to Lundberg.

The cost of fueling up was cheapest in Arizona and Wyoming were the state average is $3.59. Gas prices in Missouri and South Carolina were just a little bit more Monday.