Gas prices have taken a breather from their steady climb since January of this year.

The average price of a gallon of regular gas is $3.939, down two tenths of a penny from a week ago, and up 15 cents from a year ago, according to the Department of Energy.

While gas prices may yet move a bit higher in coming weeks, analysts do not expect them to test the highs set in the summer of 2008.

Denton Cinquegrana, an editor with the Oil Price Information service says that barring a conflict in an oil producing country, "we are probably in the seventh or eighth inning of this run up in gas prices."

The highest ever weekly average price was $4.11 in July 2008, per Energy Department data going back to 1990.  Adjusted for inflation that would be $4.35 in today's dollars.

Meanwhile oil settled at $102.46 a barrel in New York trading today, down 85 cents.

STOCKS

The U.S. stock markets were down in the first day of trading after Friday's worse than expected jobs report.  The Dow closed down 130 points or 1 percent, but still off the worst of its lows in trading earlier in the day.  The S&P and NASDAQ were both also down more than 1 percent.