Michelle Norman, 36, took one look at gasoline prices Tuesday afternoon and decided not to fill up her Mercury Mountaineer SUV. Instead, she put in $10 worth and plans to keep adding a few gallons here and there until prices drop again.“Ten dollars will probably get me a quarter of a tank. It will get me home,” the Greenwood woman said.Norman could be waiting awhile for a price drop. The cheap fuel that provided relief to drivers and businesses is inching back up and now is about $2 a gallon.PUMP PATROL: Click here for the 10 lowest gas prices in Indianapolis.Gasoline prices are being driven up nationally as a result of rising oil prices, which neared $50 a barrel Tuesday amid signs that OPEC is implementing production cuts. There’s also the matter of Israel’s ground offensive into Gaza and concerns that it might disrupt supplies from the oil-rich Middle East.On Tuesday, dozens of filling stations in Indiana raised prices to as much as $1.99 per gallon, a bargain compared with the price a year ago ($3.17) but a shock to drivers because of a roughly 60-cent hike in eight days.Indiana’s average price per gallon Tuesday was $1.81, 13 cents higher than the national average, according to AAA.The main question is: Are the price increases a precursor to the $4-a-gallon days of mid-September?No one knows for sure.Some analysts say oil eventually could eclipse $150 a barrel, maybe even climb to $200. In such a scenario, gasoline easily would cost more than the record high of $4.11 a gallon set last summer.Others say nothing indicates that gasoline prices will continue to go up.“What we’re seeing is a direct reflection of what’s happening with international affairs. The rest comes down to how much we are using,” said Greg Seiter, spokesman for AAA Hoosier Motor Club.Linda Casey, spokeswoman for Ohio-based Marathon, parent company of Speedway convenience stores, said nothing indicates that gas prices will return to summertime levels; consumers are still driving less because of the economic downturn.Nationwide, Americans drove 100 billion fewer miles in 2008 than the year before, according to government figures, reducing demand and causing prices to drop.Jimmeka Jones, 28, Indianapolis, said she hopes prices fall soon. If not, it could be worse.“Four dollars? No,” she said, cringing a little next to her Chrysler 300. “I don’t think it will go that high again.”• Call Star reporter Tom Spalding at (317) 444-2803.