Paying a buck-fifty for a gallon of gas may be a short-lived experience.

Gas prices in Colorado — which have steadily declined during the past few months to average at $1.56 per gallon statewide and $1.53 per gallon in metro Denver — should start to see gradual increases in the coming weeks and months, analysts for fuel price website GasBuddy said Monday.

“I think we’re pretty close to the bottom for prices in Colorado,” said Will Speer, GasBuddy senior petroleum analyst for the West and Southwest regions.

Refineries laden with the cheaper, winter-blend fuel are talking of making cuts in production, he said. Those actions in the past have caused prices to spike; however, considering inventories remain healthy, the increases should be slow, Speer said.

The price increases should land in the range of 4-to-6-cents per gallon weekly, and could get closer to $2 per gallon in peak demand times such as Memorial Day weekend, Speer said.

The national average dropped 3.9 cents during the past week to $1.69 per gallon. The weekly declines in Colorado and metro Denver were 7.7 cents and 7.5 cents, respectively, according to GasBuddy data.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration last week projected that regular gasoline would average $1.98 per gallon nationwide in 2016. It would be the first time since 2004 that gasoline averaged under $2 per gallon for a full year.

The production cuts will come as refineries prepare for spring maintenance and the transition to the summer blend, which is designed to prevent excessive evaporation in the heat.

“(The production cuts) are not happening just because the inventories are so high, but these refineries are actually starting to lose money,” Speer said, referencing years-low crude prices.

March deliveries for light, sweet crude were up 40 cents to $29.84 on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Alicia Wallace: 303-954-1939, awallace@denverpost.com or @aliciawallace