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Expert Says Gas Prices Will Continue Increasing -- For Now

By Mike Dougherty

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - Gas prices are steadily creeping back up after bottoming out earlier this year.

The sub-$2 dollar prices didn't last very long, and now it's hard to find a gallon of regular for less than $2.25 in the region -- up more than 30 cents a gallon over the past 30 days on average.

Oil analyst Tom Kloza expects prices to continue climbing as we head toward spring:

"We're moving higher because there's maintenance at U.S. refineries. We're gonna go up modestly then we're gonna struggle and then maybe even flirt with the lows again in the last 2/3 of 2015"

Kloza says crude oil hasn't been $50 per barrel consistently in about ten years. None of the oil-producing nations are slowing production, so the price at the pump is likely to stay below $3 a gallon for a while.

"I don't think we're going to pay what we paid from 2011 to 2014 for the foreseeable future," Kloza says.

Kloza adds he believes the days of $4 a gallon gas are behind us for quite some time.

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