Iowans are enduring extremely cold temperatures lately, but there’s encouraging news for those who use propane to heat their homes. Harold Hommes, a fuels analyst with the Iowa Department of Agriculture, says prices are falling.
“So far, inventories look to be more than adequate, a completely different situation than what we encountered last year,” Hommes says. “Both U.S. supplies seem to be at the high end of the normal range and certainly here in the Midwest, we’re looking at very good supplies.”
Hommes is hopeful the cost of propane will remain steady for the rest of the winter. “Prices seem to be hanging in there,” he says. “We just did our weekly report on Monday and it showed $1.55 average in the state. It does show quite a wide range, as low as $1.20 and up into the $1.80s. It has been drifting downward, believe it or not.”
A year ago, prices spiked within a matter of days, shooting from under $2 a gallon to nearly $5.
(Reporting by Pat Powers, KQWC, Webster City)