After plummeting to their lowest levels in nearly three years, gasoline prices may be close to hitting a 2013 low. But that’s probably about as low as they’ll go this year, experts say.

Nationally, the average price for gasoline inched up to $3.20 a gallon late last week after bottoming at about $3.17 earlier in the week. Behind the gains was a three-day spike in wholesale prices, including a 5 percent jump Thursday. That already had pushed pump prices in some states, such as Michigan, 11 cents higher. Benchmark West Texas crude traded at a five-month low early Thursday, to about $92.50 a barrel, before rebounding to close at nearly $94.

Rising wholesale and crude prices may have dashed hopes that retail gas prices could dip below $3 nationally for the first time since 2010. Eight states – including Missouri, with a national low of $2.86 – currently have average prices below $3. But those numbers may be fleeting. More than 20 states reported retail prices rising Thursday.

“There’s still a potential for overall prices to move lower, but I don’t see a whole lot of downward movement, and we may have already seen the bottom,’’ said Patrick DeHaan, senior energy analyst with GasBuddy.com, a price-tracker which had forecast the national average to fall to about $3.15 a gallon by year’s end.

Pump prices had fallen 10 straight weeks, and by mid-October, prices averaged $3.47 a gallon. Slumping crude oil prices, a decline in seasonal demand and rising crude oil and gasoline inventories pushed prices down nearly 9 percent in the last month.

Gas prices typically bottom in December, and some industry watchers say they still could inch a bit lower. Ryan Mossman, general manager of FuelQuest, which helps corporate fleets such as UPS and FedEx manage energy use, says overall pump prices might dip to $3.10 a gallon.

“A lot of it has to do with the supply situation, and we’re already oversupplied,’’ Mossman said.

Rising production, anemic economic growth both here and abroad, and easing tensions in the Middle East could keep prices in check in 2014, he said.

The Energy Information Administration reported last week that it expects 2014 gas prices to average $3.39 a gallon, compared with $3.50 this year and $3.63 in 2012.

Even if consumers have seen 2013 lows, they still might feel a bit more flush ahead of the holiday shopping season.

“You definitely see a shift in consumer sentiment when prices go down,’’ said Jeff Lenard of the National Association of Convenience Stores, whose members sell about 80 percent of the nation’s gas. “ … You may see more buying of affordable luxuries.’’

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