WOKV’s oil expert tells us gas prices in Jacksonville are a little bit higher than this time last year, and he expects the upward trend to continue in the coming weeks.

“It might not be a bad idea to fill up today because I believe a week from now, prices may be very similar or slightly higher to where they are today,” says Patrick DeHaan with GasBuddy.com.

In the last week, prices have increased seven cents to today’s average of $3.45 for a gallon of gas in Jacksonville.

A report released Wednesday by the U.S. Energy Information Association says that gasoline inventories increased by 7.4 million barrels in the last week alone, which DeHaan says is significant.

“We’ll have to continue to watch that,” he says.  “This is just the tip of the iceberg.  But for the time being, it could mean lower prices in the next couple weeks.”

DeHaan believes we will only see slight increases in the coming week but nothing that he would deem significant.