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Price creep has broken out at a gas pump near you. And it’s likely to continue for a while.

A penny here, a penny there and the next thing drivers know, prices have climbed back to the $2 mark at some stations in the Triad.

On Thursday, three stations in Greensboro and one in High Point posted prices for unleaded regular at $1.99.  One in Alamance County advertised gas for $2.02.

Prices in the Triad have been rising since Jan. 1 when regular gas averaged $1.54. In the past month and a half, that number has jumped to  $1.88.

Midgrade averaged $2 a gallon Thursday and premium hit $2.08.

“We have supplies cut back and demand is showing signs of life,” said Doug MacIntyre, senior oil market analyst for the Energy Information Administration in Washington. “The result is price creep.”

MacIntyre said prices could rise another 10 to 20 cents a gallon for the next month or so.

Analysts say there are a several reasons for the rise, including OPEC’s decision last month to cut production and the fact that some U.S. refineries are down for maintenance.

“We expect to see more of the same,” said Carol Gifford, public relations manager for AAA Carolinas in Charlotte. “We’re looking at an upward trend. How much of an increase and at what rate is hard to say right now.”

The rise in gas prices comes at a time when crude oil is falling. Light, sweet crude for March delivery tumbled $1.96, more than 5 percent, to $33.98 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Crude supplies in the U.S. reached an 82-week high last week, according to the Department of Energy, showing just how far demand has fallen.

Retail gas prices, meanwhile, reached a new high for 2009 on Thursday and appeared headed back to $2 a gallon as refiners cut back on production.

Across North Carolina, regular gas averaged $1.91 a gallon Thursday compared to the national average of $1.95.

In Greensboro, according to www.gasbuddy.com, the price for regular gas ranged from $1.78 to $1.99.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Contact Donald W. Patterson at 373-7027 or don.patterson@news-record.com