NEW YORK (Reuters) - The average gasoline price in 2012 was a record-high $3.60 a gallon, topping the previous high of $3.51 in 2011, travel group AAA said on Monday.

AAA blamed refinery outages, major hurricanes and unrest in the Middle East for the rise.

Drivers in states like Hawaii, Alaska, California and New York paid the highest prices.

However, the price fell to $3.30 a gallon in December, the lowest monthly average for the year, AAA said.

(Reporting by Selam Gebrekidan)