There’s a wide disparity in gasoline prices across Iowa right now, and depending on where you fill your tank, it may cost 50-cents more a gallon. Even the experts are flummoxed by what’s happening.
Brian Ortner, spokesman for AAA-Iowa, says they closely monitor gas prices daily, and he sees no explanation for the sudden jump to over $3 a gallon in parts of the state.
“Looking at the factors that we use on a regular basis to calculate the cost of fuel and what would contribute to increases,” Ortner says, “there’s nothing really standing out that is significant that would have an increase on prices.”
Gas prices in northeast Iowa are significantly higher than in southwest Iowa, and Ortner says it’s baffling.
“We’re still sitting in that low $70s range per barrel of crude oil, which is what we’ve seen all winter long,” Ortner says. “We’re in winter driving months, which means demand goes down, which usually helps reduce cost.”
He says there’s no clear reason why prices should be so far elevated in one section of the state.
“Even looking at our neighboring states to see if there’s any similarities, there’s nothing that’s really jumping out that would indicate any real reasons for that,” he says. “I know each business is different, and they buy their fuel from different places. That could always have an impact, based on when they’re filling their tanks again.”
The average price for a gallon of gas in Allamakee County in far northeast Iowa is $3.11, while in southwest Iowa’s Fremont County, the price is only $2.66. The statewide average is $2.91, well below the national average of $3.06.
(Pat Powers, KQWC, Webster City also contributed to this story.)