WASHINGTON, March 9 (Xinhuanet) -- Gasoline prices are expected tohit record levels in coming months, peaking in May at an average of 2.15 dollars a gallon nationwide for regular, the Washington Post reported Wednesday.

    Average prices are expected to remain above 2 dollars a gallon until November, when they should dip below that level, the Energy Information Adminitration(EIA) of the Energy Department was quotedas saying.

    The government's previous record monthly average high was 2 dollars a gallon, set in October.

    Government data showed prices averaging 2 dollars a gallon nationally last week, up 7 cents from the week before. Prices are moving higher because of rising crude oil prices and strong demand,analysts said.

    In inflation-adjusted dollars, gasoline remains well below the monthly average high of 3.08 dollars a gallon reached in March 1981, according to the EIA.

    Higher prices will slow the economy slightly, some economists predict. But "this kind of level of gasoline prices is not going to tank the economy," Peter Hooper, chief US economist at DeutscheBank in New York, was quoted as saying.

    Crude oil prices are approaching record levels. On the New YorkMercantile Exchange Tuesday, US benchmark crude for April deliveryspiked to more than 55 dollars a barrel before closing at 54.59 dollars a barrel. That was up 70 cents from the day before.

    Oil prices hit a record of 55.17 dollars a barrel in October.

    Stockpiles of gasoline in the United States are in their average range, government data last week showed. But domestic demand continues to increase without an equivalent increase in production, meaning that supplies will not last as long as they did last year, said Dave Costello, an economist with the EIA. Enditem