Nationwide the average cost of a gallon of regular gasoline during the busy April-September driving season will be $1.76, up 20 cents from last year, not adjusted for inflation. Although that's about even with current costs, it's a six-month average and prices are expected to peak at more than $1.82 in May, the Energy Department said.

Prices will be much higher than the nationwide average in some states, particularly California, where gasoline has been averaging $2.12 a gallon with little sign of relief anytime soon.

Hawai'i gasoline prices reached a statewide record high yesterday, with a gallon of regular averaging $2.14, according to AAA.

The average price for a gallon of regular gasoline on Maui hit $2.389 yesterday, the highest it's been on the Valley Isle since February 2001.

Honolulu hit a record high on Wednesday, when a gallon of regular averaged $2.055.

"Conditions are likely to remain volatile through the summer," the Energy Department said.

That's bad news for trucker Lee Klass of Portland, Ore. Klass, 56, is already paying as much as $1,000 a week for diesel fuel, twice the usual cost. Although he is receiving some extra money to help offset the higher prices, he is still being forced to absorb most of the gain.

"I just have to eat it," says Klass, who was in Virginia Thursday, making his way from Charlotte, N.C., to Massachusetts with 28,000 pounds of cardboard boxes. "It's really very frustrating because I feel powerless. I am powerless."

Roger Chiang and his fiancŽe, Cindy Chao, switched their rental-car reservation from an intermediate to a compact for a trip to California this weekend to save gas money. The couple from the Washington, D.C., area have to drive about 200 miles from Los Angeles International Airport to San Luis Obispo for a wedding.

"I don't want to pay $40 or $50 on a tank of gas," says Chiang, 31, who works at the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.

What's behind the increase:

• Oil prices, which make up half the cost of gasoline, are elevated, recently hitting a 13-year high.

• An improving economy is expected to lead to a 2.2 percent increase in demand from last year, putting gas demand at a record high.

• Gas inventories at the start of the driving season are the second lowest in 30 years.