Gas prices take a small drop

Gasoline prices are still near their record high point in Iowa and nationwide, but the prices have dropped a smidgen this week, according to Triple-A-Iowa spokeswoman Dawn Duffy. About a month ago, on March 17th, we broke the all-time record high for the national average gas price and since then, Duffy says, the prices have been slowly climbing. In the past few days though, prices have dropped one-to-two cents a gallon, depending on where you’re located. The national average is now two-dollars-26 cents a gallon while in Iowa, the average is two-21. Duffy wouldn’t say whether she thought gas prices would ever again go below two-bucks a gallon, but she did say two key elements — oil inventories and crude oil prices — are looking promising. Crude oil prices have come down from the record price per barrel of around 57-dollars to around 53-dollars, while U.S. inventories of crude oil and gasoline are higher than they’ve been in the past — which could bring gas prices down soon. In Iowa, the most expensive gas is for sale in Cedar Rapids at 2-26 a gallon; the cheapest is in Waterloo at 2-19. The current statewide average is two-21, while a month ago the price was two-oh-one and a year ago, gas was selling for a dollar-71.