Gasoline prices in Iowa have risen about 12-cents a gallon on average over the past month, but they’re still down about 25-cents a gallon from a year ago, according to Brian Ortner at AAA Iowa.
As we shift from winter to spring weather, he anticipates more fluctuations in gas prices as Iowans’ driving habits change.
“Demand is probably the biggest thing that’s going to maybe have the impact to see it move up or down a little bit,” Ortner says. “Moving into these warmer weather months, more people are driving, more activities are taking place, baseball practices are starting, soccer practices are starting. More people get out on the roads, the travel numbers go up just because people are taking trips, and then we’re getting ready for the end of the school year.”
The current statewide average for gas is $3.05 a gallon, which is the same as a week ago.
“As demand goes up, we may see prices go up a little bit, but there shouldn’t be too much impact,” Ortner says, “because crude oil prices are staying where they should be, at that $70 — or lower — per barrel price.”
AAA says Iowa’s cheapest and most expensive gas prices are both in eastern Iowa. The average in Davenport is $2.95 a gallon, while in Dubuque, it’s $3.21.
(By Pat Powers, KQWC, Webster City)