Feb. 22 (Bloomberg) -- The average price of regular gasoline at U.S. filling stations rose to $1.94 a gallon as demand for motor fuel increased.

Gasoline gained 2.55 cents, or 1.3 percent, in the two weeks ended Feb. 20, according to oil analyst Trilby Lundberg’s survey of 7,000 filling stations nationwide.

“We’re at an interesting intersection of the price trend and demand trend,” Lundberg said in an interview. “Low prices relative to a year ago are allowing demand to cease shrinking. Demand is making a comeback.”

Gasoline consumption in the four weeks ended Feb. 13 was 8.9 million barrels a day, up 0.8 percent from a week earlier, the Energy Department said Feb. 19. It was the third consecutive increase in the four-week average.

AAA, the nation’s biggest motoring club, said today that regular gasoline at the pump averaged $1.917 a gallon, down 53 percent from the record $4.114 in July.

Stockpiles added 1.1 million barrels to 218.7 million last week as refinery utilization rose 0.7 percentage points, the Energy Department said Feb. 19.

Stimulus Plan

Gasoline prices were supported by crude oil, which rose 14 percent on Feb. 19, the biggest gain in seven weeks, after a U.S. government report showed an unexpected drop in supplies as imports declined.

Inventories fell 138,000 barrels to 350.6 million barrels last week, the first decline this year, the Energy Department said this week. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries agreed to three supply cuts in 2008 to halt sliding prices.

Gasoline also gained on speculation that President Barack Obama’s $275 billion plan to stimulate the economy will help to boost demand for the motor fuel.

The highest average price for self-serve regular gasoline in the U.S. was $2.39 a gallon in Anchorage, Alaska, Lundberg said. The lowest was in Cheyenne, Wyoming, at $1.60 a gallon. On New York’s Long Island, the price was $2.07 a gallon.

To contact the reporter on this story: Aaron Clark in New York at aclark27@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: February 22, 2009 17:13 EST