The latest state report says better weather that allowed the harvest to pick up has had an impact on gas prices in the state. Jessica Zopf with the Iowa Office for Energy Independence says gas prices have gone down nationally, but not here. She says Iowa has not followed the national trend downward, especially in the last couple of days as she says there’s been a greater demand for fuel driven by the harvest.
The average price of a gallon of unleaded ethanol gasoline went up 14 cents to $2.51 in the survey completed Monday when compared to the survey one month ago. Diesel fuel was up 15 cents a gallon for the same period for an average price of $2.76. The harvest has been way behind and farmers have been working long hours with improved weather, and Zopf says that shows in the fuel supply.
Zopf says it translates throughout the entire fuel supply with farmers using both diesel and gasoline to transport the crops. The downward trend in the national supply could indicate that Iowa prices may drop as the demand from the harvest slows. Zopf says Iowa has always stayed below the national price for all fuels, so it’s likely prices could go down some, but she says it is hard to predict the future.
The November gasoline price is 33% higher than the price one year ago when the ethanol blend of gas was selling for $1.89 a gallon. Diesel however is down four cents from last November when the average price for a gallon was $2.61 a gallon. You can see the complete range of gas prices across the state on the Office of Energy Independence’s website here :http://www.energy.iowa.com/