Enlarge By Paul Sakuma, AP Gasoline prices in Hayward, Calif., have been above $2 for a while, but now the national average has traveled past $2 a gallon. FAR OFF HIGHS FAR OFF HIGHS

Crude oil futures price per barrel, 12 months. GASOLINE PRICES GASOLINE PRICES State-by-state gasoline averages from AAA Gasoline topped $2 a gallon at the nation's gas pumps Thursday, according to the daily survey by AAA and the Oil Price Information Service. AAA says the average price for a gallon of regular gas was $2.009 Thursday, up from $1.933 just a week ago and the highest price since Nov. 20, when the average in the AAA survey hit $2.02. FUEL FORUM: Will we see $4 gas prices soon? A year ago, the average price was $3.261 a gallon. Prices peaked in July last year at $4.114 a gallon. Gasoline prices are rising because of higher crude oil costs, which account for about the half the cost of making motor fuel Oil prices rose above $53 a barrel as investors wagered that there would be a new run on crude stocks. Benchmark crude for May delivery rose 86 cents to $53.63 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. In London, Brent prices rose $1.39 to $53.14 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange. Analysts have struggled to explain the recent surge in energy prices, especially as reports continue to pour out from the federal government showing that the U.S. economy is shrinking and its oil inventories are bloated with surplus crude. Investors seem to have shrugged off the government data and have been bidding up prices on the expectation of a future shortage of crude oil, analysts said. Stephen Schork, an analyst and trader, said a lot of investors are getting swept into a new run on oil stocks even though there is little to support rising prices. "With global demand in the doldrums and the world swimming in oil, the current price run in oil is an aberration," Schork said in his daily oil report. "We do not think it will last ... in a logical world." Tom Kloza, publisher and chief oil analyst at Oil Price Information Service, said the traders are jumping to oil now, but it won't be like last year. "This is not the beginning of the next great oil price shock," Kloza said. The price of gasoline, however, is traveling along more traditional lines. Gas prices usually increase in the spring as refiners slow down production to get ready for a summer gas blends, and gas is actually cheaper now than it was at the same point in the previous four years. Kloza said the recession will keep prices low as manufacturers retrench and millions of laid off people no longer commute to work. "We're on the trajectory where prices will top out between $2 and $2.25 a gallon in most markets," he said. Contributing: Associated Press, Reuters Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Guidelines: You share in the USA TODAY community, so please keep your comments smart and civil. Don't attack other readers personally, and keep your language decent. Use the "Report Abuse" button to make a difference. You share in the USA TODAY community, so please keep your comments smart and civil. Don't attack other readers personally, and keep your language decent. Use the "Report Abuse" button to make a difference. Read more