Gas price record above $4.02 as oil slips

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Gas price record above $4.02 as oil slips

Price at the pump heads higher after breaking the $4 barrier; oil softens after record-breaking rally.
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Last Updated: June 9, 2008: 8:28 AM EDT

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NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- The national average price for a gallon of gas set another record above $4.02 a gallon, while crude oil prices eased following a massive spike in the previous session.

At the pump, the national average price for a gallon of gasoline rose above $4 a gallon on Sunday for the first time ever, according to motorist group AAA.

Gas prices climbed Monday to a record $4.023 a gallon, which is more than 10% higher than $3.692 a month ago and nearly 29% higher than the $3.091 average a year ago, according to the AAA figures.

Meanwhile, light, sweet crude for July delivery fell $1.44 to $137.10 a barrel in pre-market trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

On Friday, the contract shot up nearly $11 - the largest single-day jump on record - to settle at a record $138.54 a barrel.

Friday's rally was fueled by a combination of geopolitical jitters, the dollar's decline and a report from Morgan Stanley predicting oil could reach $150 a barrel by July 4.

Last week's runup in crude prices helped push the Dow Jones industrial average down nearly 400 points Friday. Many investors see higher gas prices crimping household budgets, damping consumer spending and undermining the economy.

But stock futures pointed to a recovery early Monday morning.  To top of page