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Gas could hit $3 gallon again in 2017 in parts of the U.S.

Posted at 2:42 PM, Dec 21, 2016
and last updated 2016-12-22 08:53:31-05

As many get ready to head over the river and through the woods to grandma's house for Christmas, you'll notice your pit stops along the way are getting more expensive.

Gas prices are going up again across the country.

Analysts at GasBuddy.com say prices have jumped in all but nine U.S. states.

It's spurred on by a cut in oil production overseas by OPEC (Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries) which has driven up the price of a barrel of oil around the world to just less than $54 per barrel on Wednesday.

According to GasBuddy.com Senior Analyst Patrick DeHaan, the biggest spikes recently have been seen in states like Michigan, Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky because of fuel refinery issues in the region.

DeHaan expects prices to level out after the new year, but will start climbing again by spring and summer where some states may see prices cross $3 per gallon again.

"It hasn't been that long," DeHaan said via Skype. "We've only been in the low gas price era for really two years. The summer of 2015, this past summer and now we're seeing the road to higher gas prices."

DeHaan expects prices could move into the $3 range in states like California, Alaska and Hawaii, which generally have higher prices.

He says Pennsylvania could also see more expensive prices per gallon because of that state's high gas taxes.