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Lundberg survey has self-serve regular hitting a national average of $3.07 for a gallon

ATLANTA (CNN) -- The price of gasoline has hit a new record high, averaging $3.07 for a gallon of self-serve regular in the United States, a survey reported Sunday.

When inflation is factored in, the new price trails the all-time high in March 1981. At the time, gasoline cost $1.35 a gallon -- in today's dollars, that's $3.13 a gallon, said Trilby Lundberg, publisher of the Lundberg Survey.

Still, in raw numbers, the $3.07 beats the previous high of $3.03 in August.

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The survey, which took into account the prices at thousands of gas stations nationwide on May 4, found a 19-cent jump from the previous survey two weeks earlier.

Last month there was "substantial evidence" that gas prices would fall, but a series of "incidents" at a dozen refineries worldwide led the price to reverse course, Lundberg said.

In some cases, refineries began scheduled maintenance, but in other cases they experienced accidents that led some to shut down entirely and others to limit their capacity, she said.

Also, demand for gasoline grows at this time of year as Americans drive more in the warmer weather, she said.

The price of $3.07 is 12 cents higher than the survey found a year ago.

The city with the lowest average price found in the latest survey was Charleston, S.C., where a gallon of self-serve regular cost $2.80, the survey found. The highest average was $3.49 in San Francisco.

Average prices in some other cities:

Memphis 2.84

Houston 2.86

Atlanta 2.94

Boston 2.95

Salt Lake City 3.03

Las Vegas 3.12

Long Island 3.18

Chicago 3.31