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KIRKSVILLE, MO. -- Gasoline prices are up sharply in what could be the start of a wild ride for motorists in 2013.

In Missouri gas prices, just this week rose 21 cents.

And in Iowa, it's gone up 33 cents in the past month and 18 cents this week.

Gregg Laskoski with Gasbuddy.com said recent unrest in the Middle East and other factors have pushed prices higher.

“We've seen wholesale prices go up for a number of reasons,” Laskoski said.

He said part of this has to do with the fact that refineries are switching to summer fuel.

“Crude oil is trading today between 96 and 97 dollars a barrel and at that level crude is at the highest point we've seen since May of last year,” Laskoski said.

Laskoski said, unfortunately, this is not the end of gas prices going up.

He thinks we will soon see gas prices go up another 20 cents.

“Well, unfortunately, this is the beginning of the annual run-up that we see every spring,” Laskoski said.

“And right now with wholesale prices as high as they are, believe it or not those wholesale prices have not been reflected in the retail price, so you can see another increase of 10 to 20 cents a gallon over the next week or two weeks. After we get past that, we're hoping any increases become much more incremental and not as dramatic as we've seen in the past month. Pretty much from January to April we can expect to see these prices climb. And we're expecting them to peak sometime in April.”

Laskoski recommends you use gasbuddy.com to find the cheapest gasoline in your neighborhood.

He also advises doing things to help you improve your gas mileage.

For instance, checking your tire pressure, making sure the tire pressure is exactly at the level recommended by the manufacturer, and lightening the load that your vehicle carries.