PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) -- You have to leave the mainland to find a state with higher gasoline prices than Oregon.

On Christmas Eve, the average price for a gallon of regular unleaded in Oregon sat at $2.69 -- 25 percent more expensive than it was a year ago. Hawaiians were paying $2.82 and Washington had the third-highest price at $2.67. The national average was $2.34.

Oregon typically has high prices because it is far from the oil refineries where gasoline is made. But Elliott Eki of AAA Oregon/Idaho has no clear-cut answer for why the price has risen more than a dime in the last month.

"Some of the increase probably is the demand by drivers for the Christmas and New Year's weekends," he said. "But this is normally the time when gas prices are at their lowest level.

Usually, you'll see a spike when things are thawing out and people are preparing to drive at spring break."

Oil industry analysts say the main reasons for the increase are a rise in demand and the stabilization of crude oil at about $63 a barrel.

"It's true that demand really drops off at this time of year, but we're 2 percent higher on the demand scale than we were at the same time last year," said Denton Cinquegrana, the West Coast spot markets editor for the Oil Price Information Service.

As is generally the case, drivers in the Medford/Ashland area were paying the highest price in Oregon at $2.77 a gallon. In Eugene/Springfield, the average price was $2.72. Salem and Portland motorists faced $2.69 a gallon.

Cinquegrana said prices will drop when Oregonians and drivers across the nation decide to spend less time behind the wheel.

"The likelihood of high prices is always there if you always drive," he said.