(WWJ) Brace yourself Michigan drivers: Gas prices are likely to rise sharply early this week.

Patrick DeHaan, head of petroleum analysis at Gas Buddy, says metro Detroiters should expect the price at the pump to go up by 20 to 40 cents as soon as today; and it's not in connection with the 4th of July like some might think.

"It has nothing to do with the holiday," DeHann told WWJ's Zach Clark. "More so to do with the tensions that we've all seen in the newspapers between the U.S. and Iran the last two weeks that have sent oil prices up by $9 a barrel. Oil prices to start June were closer to $51, and this morning they've just hit $60 a barrel for the first time."

DeHann said the good news is the prices are not expected to stay too high for long.

"Almost immediately, within 24 hours of prices jumping, they will start to go back down," DeHann said. "It will be a slow decrease. You'll start to see stations undercutting by a couple pennies every few hours or once a day or so for the next 7 to 10 days."

DeHann said this process is why we see Detroit area gas prices fluctuate so frequently.

"The Midwest is one of the only areas of the country that sees a pricing behavior that we call price cycling, in which gas stations continue to undercut each other for about a week, which eventually brings prices so low that stations lose money; that then triggers everyone to begun going up," he explained.

As of Monday morning, GasBuddy.com showed the best deal on gas in metro Detroit was $2.45 a gallon at the Circle K on West Rd. at Hall Rd. in Woodhaven, while the most expensive was $3.39 a gallon if you pay cash at the BP on Ann Arbor Rd. E near I-275 in Plymouth.

The average price was $2.817 and rising.

Find the best price near you at this link.