Gasoline prices hit an all-time high in the United States on Tuesday, topping out just shy of $1.74 U.S. per gallon nationwide, or 62 cents Cdn per litre.

The record-high price is one-tenth of a penny greater than the previous mark set Aug. 30 last year.

"The situation is largely one where you have improving demand, tight supplies, and low inventory pushing the price of crude oil higher," said Craig Alexander, an economist at TD Bank.

Other factors include consolidation of the U.S. energy industry and recent political unrest in Iraq, Venezuela and Nigeria.

Experts are warning there's no relief in sight. "We are going to see something that happens every spring and summer in Canada and that is a run-up in gasoline prices," said Calgary gas price analyst Michael Ervin.

"This year it's going to be a little more volatile than in previous years as a result of high demand hitting up against the ceiling of refining capacity not only in Canada, but in North America in general," Ervin said. 

Gas prices are significantly higher on the Canadian side of the border, averaging close to 76 cents per litre. Some stations in Quebec were charging as much as 88 cents per litre on Tuesday.

Those numbers are still better than they were a year ago when, on the eve of the Iraq war, the average price per litre surged to 85 cents.

News of the price record was reported by AAA, formerly the American Automobile Association. The Orlando-based auto club gets daily price information from 60,000 gas stations though the Oil Price Information service.

Weary motorists are hoping for a break when representatives from the world's major petroleum producing countries, OPEC, meet on Wednesday to set production numbers.

But OPEC has indicated it will cut back on the amount of crude oil it sells by one million barrels a day beginning next month.

Gasoline prices traditionally rise in early spring as refiners temporarily shut plants down in preparation for the peak summer driving season.

Prices have jumped more than usual this spring because commercial inventories of gasoline in the U.S. are already low. High crude prices have left many refiners keeping extremely lean inventories on hand.

On Tuesday, crude oil for May delivery was selling at $37.45 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, up 40 cents. That price is below recent highs, but remains near a 14-year record high.

Crude oil costs represent at least one-third of gasoline's cost.

Last week, a California-based private survey put the average price of gasoline at $1.77 per gallon, a full penny above the previous record set in May 2001.