Gasoline prices have bounced back over $3 a gallon in Iowa, while in some areas, prices went up more than a dime a gallon overnight. Rose White is spokeswoman for Triple-A Iowa. White says the statewide average for self-serve unleaded is $3.04 a gallon, up about 80-cents a gallon compared to a year ago.
The national average is $3.08. Gas prices in the state hit their all-time record high in May of last year, topping out at $3.35 a gallon. White says part of the reason for the latest big jump in gas prices was the recent leap in crude oil prices, which have gone over $100 a barrel. She says processed unleaded fuel, which is ready to be delivered to the market, rose nearly 16-cents a gallon since last week.
White says, "The increase in processed fuel has already hit some marketplaces, with prices increasing overnight ten to 15-cents a gallon." In the global picture, she says there have been threats both from OPEC leaders and the president of Venezuela to cut fuel shipments to the U.S., which has had a serious impact on the petroleum markets.
White says there was also an explosion and fire at a refinery in Texas, which produced 1.3 million gallons of gas per day, and that’s causing some regional price spikes. She says that refinery may be down two months for repairs.