Things aren’t as cheery at Iowa gas pumps as the experts predicted. Conventional wisdom says gas prices drop in the fall after the busy summerdriving season is over and gas supplies increase. But the August survey bythe Iowa Department of Natural Resources shows prices increased three centson average for a gallon of unleaded gas to one-dollar-and-21-cents. D-N-Rspokesman Ward Lenz says the oil producing countries have been 90-percenteffective in keeping a tight hold on the supply of oil.Lenz says oil producing countries are meeting again today and that couldlead to continued high gas prices.Lenz says Hurricane Floyd could also have an impact later this month on theprice of gas as ports on the east coast were unable to take delivery of fuelduring the storm.The average gas price in August was 23-cents more than in August 1998.Across the state unleaded gas prices ranged from one-dollar-and-fifteencents to one-dollar-and-28-cents.
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