(AP) -- With the price of gas above $3.50 a gallon in nearly the entire country, there are signs that Americans are cutting back on driving.

It marks a turnaround from a steady increase in demand for fuel as the economy improved.

According to MasterCard SpendingPulse, which tracks spending at 140,000 service stations, gas sales have fallen for five weeks in a row. Before that, demand had increased for two months. And some analysts had expected the trend to continue, what with the 216,000 jobs that were added in March.

Instead, according to a March survey by the Oil Price Information Service, about 70 percent of the nation's major gas-station chains say sales have fallen. 

This year, gas prices have shot up as unrest in North Africa and the Middle East rattled energy markets.

A gallon of unleaded regular costs $3.77 on average, which is about 20 cents higher than the average in South Carolina, currently $3.57 for a gallon of regular unleaded.

Only Wyoming has an average lower than $3.50. Most analysts are sticking to forecasts of a high of $4 a gallon, though some have predicted $5 gas.

Click here for a link to the cheapest gas prices in your area.

(Copyright ©2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)