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NORTH TEXAS (CBS 11 NEWS) - After dipping well below the $2 mark, gas prices across North Texas are creeping back up.

The overall average price in Texas is up about a penny from last week, to $1.85.

In North Texas, prices averaged nine cents higher this week, at $1.88 at the pump. This compares to $3.12 on January 28 of last year.

AAA analysts expect gas prices to increase this spring, because of seasonal demand and refinery maintenance.

"We knew there was going to be a bottom for these prices. Whether this is it – we still don't know," said Doug Shupe, a spokesman for AAA Texas.

At Southern Methodist University's Maguire Energy Institute, Associate Director Bernard Weinstein projects prices to stay within 10-cents of current prices, for the next six months.

Despite the increase in prices drivers are paying, Weinstein says shale production will likely remain slower this year – as expected – than last year.

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