You may have noticed gas prices still hovering just under $3 a gallon in the Mahoning Valley and if you 're getting ready to hit the road this holiday season, that might sound like good news.

However, we're actually seeing a slight surge in prices at the pump and economists say it could be a while before we see them drop back down.

"They might drop a little bit in like the late January early February months," said YSU instructor of economics Sarah Jenyk. "Typically we see a little bit of a drop then and then we start to see them rise again as we enter into the spring and summer travel season," she said.

Jenyk said it's normal for us to see gas prices fluctuate this time of year, but there are some ways you can get the most bang for your buck after you fill up.
"Keeping your tires inflated is going to help and in the cold months that can be an issue so you wanna check the pressure on your tires and really just think about how you can conserve your trips, you know, try to combine trips as much as you can," Jenyk said.

We're also seeing another round of price hikes on some items in the grocery store. So if you're preparing to get that holiday meal on the table, you might feel a pinch on anything from eggs to beef.

"We currently have a very low inventory of cattle in the United States which is also causing some higher than usual beef prices which is good for beef producers but is also expensive for the consumers," Lee Beers, Ohio State Extension Trumbull County Agriculture Educator said. "So again as those herds begin to increase over the next couple of years, you should start to see those prices drop down," he said.

Unfortunately, we won't see any kind of dip in these prices before the holiday season is over.