NEW YORK (CNN/Money) – Gasoline is tracking the rising cost of oil, reaching a new all-time high just a day after U.S. light crude did the same, and well before the peak demand summer driving season.

According to AAA, the largest U.S. auto club -- formerly known as the American Automobile Association -- motorists would spend, on average, $2.061 for a gallon of regular gasoline Friday.

Thursday also set a record high as gasoline reached $2.055 a gallon.

The previous highest recorded price was $2.054, reached May 26, 2004, according to AAA.

AAA conducts surveys of gas prices published five days a week, while the Energy Information Administration publishes weekly surveys of pump prices.

Retail gas prices have flirted with record highs in recent weeks, in tandem with soaring crude oil prices.

"For several weeks, analysts have predicted new record-high prices this spring," AAA spokeswoman Dawn Duffy said earlier in the week.

"The same dynamics that created record-high prices last year still exist today, including the seasonal switch to summer fuel production," Duffy added. "The one difference is that crude oil traded at $37 per barrel a year ago, but now hovers near $54 today."

While Friday's price set a new record at the pump, when adjusted for inflation the highest price for gasoline would be the equivalent of more than $3 a gallon in the spring of 1981, Reuters said, citing the Department of Energy.

Hawaii currently has the highest average gasoline price at $2.434 a gallon for regular unleaded, while motorists in New Jersey enjoy the nation's lowest average price for regular unleaded at $1.898 a gallon, according to AAA.

The prospect of record-breaking gas prices has prompted President Bush to urge Congress to approve his plan to drill for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska.

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