It seems gasoline prices across Iowa go up at a moment’s notice of bad news from Iraq or with rumors of a refinery strike in South America, but why didn’t gas prices go down with the capture of Saddam Hussein? Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley says many people were stunned to see prices rise instead. Grassley says he saw stations in Waterloo/Cedar Falls raise prices ten cents a gallon during the 24 hours after Saddam’s capture. Grassley, a Republican, says many factors are coming into play in gasoline prices. Grassley says you’d think prices would go down with Saddam’s capture and the prospects for peace in Iraq getting better, but he says the economic reality is, the prices are based on the principles of supply and demand. Despite the suspicions, Grassley says he doesn’t think there’s any price-goughing underway. He says he doesn’t blame people for thinking something is going on, but he says all the studies show nothing is going on. A survey from Triple-A Motor Club of Iowa says gas prices statewide are averaging a dollar-41 a gallon for self-service unleaded.
