DETROIT (WWJ) – Gas prices in Metro Detroit are hovering around $3.45 a gallon and Gasbuddy.com Senior Analyst Patrick De Haan says paying three bucks and over is the new norm:

“Come the middle of summer, three dollars would look very welcome to what we’re going to be paying in the middle of summer. So, even higher amounts are likely, certainly it does not appear that we will see that two dollar sign come out – at least for many months,” say De Haan.

De Haan says two dollar gas prices may not return at all or until the fall.

“Earliest, perhaps November, it depends on how fast the economy grows,” DeHaan adds.

De Haan says the issues in the Middle East and Libya are what’s behind the spike.