Higher oil prices so far this year and expectations of strong demand on the back of economic growth means higher gas prices for consumers, analysts say. File photo by Eduardo Sverdlin/UPI. Jan. 23 (UPI) — Abnormal trends for U.S. retail gasoline prices so far could point to higher prices for the year, but there may be short-term relief in store, analysts said. Motor club AAA reports a national average retail price of $2.54 per gallon for Tuesday, a slight increase from the previous day and about 10 cents per gallon, or 4 percent, higher than one month ago. Jeanette Casselano, a spokeswoman for AAA, said gas prices usually drop by as much as 20 cents during the first few weeks of January as holiday demand sloughs off, but this year the trend is reversed. “For consumers, the question is how high are gas prices going to go in 2018,” […]