Gas prices nationally could reach a record of $4.25 a gallon by the end of April, topping the $4.11 set in July 2008, according to market analysts.
Though there is no prediction yet for Colorado, the state lags far behind the national average of $3.741 per gallon. Colorado's average price for a gallon of regular unleaded was $3.209, according to GasBuddy.com.
The state's 54-cent spread is a prime contributor to a record difference between national gas prices and those in the Rocky Mountain region.
In a Feb. 14 report, the U.S. Energy Information Administration noted: "On January 30, 2012, average gasoline prices in the Rockies were 41 cents below the U.S. average, which was a record for the region since EIA began tracking regional retail price data in 1992."
On Jan. 30, the average gas price in Colorado was $2.96 a gallon. The national average was $3.447.
Wyoming was the only state with cheaper gas than Colorado on Sunday, averaging $3.155 a gallon, according to GasBuddy.com.
Some of the cheapest gas prices in the country routinely are in the Rocky Mountain states. The reason is cheaper crude prices and refinery costs, according to the agency.
Refineries get most of their oil from within the Rocky Mountain states or nearby parts of the Midwest or from Canada.
In most years, the Rocky Mountain refineries pay about $3 less per barrel of crude than other parts of the country. By the end of 2011, the margin had spread to $16 a barrel, according to the agency.
"In general, gasoline prices in the Rocky Mountain area have been lower than the national average for much of the past year due to relatively low crude-oil input costs to refineries in a region that is fairly self-sufficient in meeting its demand for gasoline and other petroleum products; refineries within the Rockies supply most of the regional demand," the Energy Information Administration stated in its Feb. 14 report.
According to GasBuddy.com, the cheapest gas in the state was in the Loveland area, led by Murphy Express at West 64th Street and Colorado Highway 287.
While the highest gas prices in the state are in the Glenwood Springs-to-Aspen area, the highest recorded price Sunday was $3.79 in Julesburg, in northeast Colorado.
Since Feb. 4, gas prices have risen 20 cents a gallon in Colorado, according to GasBuddy.com. Prices averaged $3.07 a gallon Jan. 1, according to the site.
Nationally, gas prices rose for a 24th straight day Friday as service stations pass along the rising cost of oil to consumers.
Gasoline has surged as its primary component, oil, gets more expensive. Oil prices have climbed 10 percent since January on fears that world supplies could be reduced as the West confronts Iran over its nuclear program.
Iran, the world's third-largest oil exporter, faces a European embargo and other international sanctions as the West tries to force its nuclear facilities to open to inspectors.