Gas prices creep up near $2 mark
A gallon of self-serve regular costs an average of $1.94, up 2.6 cents from two weeks ago, reports the Lundberg Survey.
(CNN) -- Prices at the pump have edged up slightly over the past two weeks, bringing the national average close to $2.00, according to a survey published Sunday.
A gallon of self-serve regular costs an average of $1.94, the Lundberg Survey said. That's up 2.6 cents from the price two weeks ago.
Gas prices have been climbing since they bottomed out in mid-December, but the rate of increase has slowed steadily, said survey publisher Trilby Lundberg.
The price is still $1.16 below where it was a year ago, and $2.17 below the record high it reached last July, Lundberg said. It's about 40 cents below the price at this time two years ago.
Crude oil prices have been relatively stable in recent weeks. "Supply remains abundant, and there is a lot of unused refining capacity," Lundberg said.
Meanwhile, with relatively low gas prices, "our gasoline demand has made a comeback from extreme shrinkage to break-even, compared to a year ago," Lundberg said.
Preliminary estimates from the government suggest gasoline demand may now be slightly ahead of what it was a year ago, Lundberg added.
If crude oil prices stay steady, "then gasoline prices should also be comparatively stable" in the near-term, Lundberg said.
The survey tallies prices at about 5,000 gas stations nationwide.
The city with the lowest average price in the latest survey was Cheyenne, Wyoming, at $1.60. The highest average was in Anchorage, Alaska, at $2.39.
Here are the average prices of a gallon of self-serve regular in some other cities:
Honolulu, Hawaii - $2.36
Portland, Maine $1.98
Boston, Massachusetts $1.92
Baltimore, Maryland $1.88
Atlanta, Georgia $1.88
Miami, Florida $2.01
El Paso, Texas - $1.97
Denver, Colorado - $1.81
Omaha, Nebraska - $1.84
Seattle, Washington - $2.21
San Diego, California - $2.27 
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