AAA reported that regular gasoline is averaging $4.098 per gallon, up from Wednesday's high of $4.092 per gallon. The price of gas last year on the Fourth of July was $2.95 per gallon.

Alaska has the highest gas prices in the nation, with drivers paying an average of $4.689 per gallon for regular gas. The cheapest gas in the country is in Oklahoma, where a gallon of gas averages $3.885.

The high gas prices have led drivers to cut back on their travel plans, according to AAA, which projects 40.45 million Americans will travel during the July Fourth holiday weekend, down 1.3 percent, or nearly 550,000 Americans, from the 41 million who traveled last year.

Mary Sullivan, of Bellevue, Neb., said she has no plans to go out of town, reported KETV-TV in Omaha, Neb.

"We're both retired, me and my husband, and on a fixed income, so we'll probably go watch fireworks but that's about it," she said.

According to a CNN/Opinion Research Poll, one-third of Americans have canceled or shortened their plans this Fourth of July because of higher gas prices.

The rise in gas prices comes, in part, from a rise in oil prices, which soared to an intraday record high at $145.85 per barrel, up $2.60 from Wednesday's record close. Oil ended the day Thursday up $1.71 per barrel to $145.27, which is a record close for the commodity.

A slumping dollar has been a key driver pushing oil prices up by half this year. Many investors buy commodities such as oil as a hedge against inflation when the greenback weakens, and a falling dollar makes oil less expensive to investors overseas. When the dollar strengthens, traders have less incentive to buy commodities.

Speaking Thursday in Madrid, Saudi Arabia's oil minister said the world's biggest oil exporter had no immediate plans to boost crude output because there was no need to do so.

Ali Naimi suggested Saudi Arabia is ready to raise production if the kingdom determines supply-and-demand fundamentals have changed. But for now, the minister told reporters, "all our buyers are satisfied and happy."