Wondering why gas prices seem to be all over the place? The latest survey by the Iowa department of natural resources found prices anywhere from a dollar-two to 1-20 a gallon around Iowa. DNR fuel-price analyst David Downing says some buyers who figured crude-oil prices were headed upward — signed contracts just before the cost went down, instead. He says they’re going to have to sell the higher-priced gas, and if a neighboring station sells gas cheaper, they have to cut their price and “eat their profit.” Most stations in Iowa will make a profit of four to six cents a gallon. Downing compares that with an average 12 to 18 cents profit for west-coast stations. Downing says right now we’re getting a break because of financial troubles in other nations.Economies globally are hurting so we’re the “dumping ground” for imported gas right now. Downing says you’d better not expect this break to last, once summer driving season boosts our fuel consumption.This spring will likely set an all-time record for gas consumption, according to Downing, and he says supplies will be tight. By early summer, Downing says prices could be near the two-dollar mark as they were a year earlier.
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