Most Americans feel gas price pain: poll

NEW YORK (CNN) -- Rising gas prices are causing economic strain for the majority of Americans, but only 1 in 5 reports facing severe problems as a result of higher prices at the pump, according to a CNN/Opinion Research Poll released Friday.

Two-thirds say that rising gas prices are causing hardship for their families; that's virtually the same number who felt that way when gas prices began to rise last spring.

Of those polled, only 19 percent found themselves in severe hardship because of the affects of rising gas prices, opposed to 47 percent who said they have experienced a moderate hardship and 33 percent who reported no hardship at all.

The poll of 1,218 adult Americans had a sampling error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.

Phil Flynn, senior oil analyst for Aleron, found the number of those suffering hardships surprisingly low, telling CNN that "the low number explains why gas demand is at a record high, despite high prices. Because for the vast majority of people, it isn't a hardship for them."

As of Friday, the national average for regular unleaded gasoline was holding steady at $2.86, according to AAA.

Increasing gas prices affect the stock price of such giants as BP (Charts), Exxon Mobil (Charts, Fortune 500), ConocoPhillips (Charts, Fortune 500), and Chevron (Charts, Fortune 500).