Northwest Iowa — Gasoline prices at northwest Iowa service stations will probably go up into spring and the start of the summer driving season. Maybe even moreso than normal.
Gail Weinholzer at AAA of Minnesota and Iowa, says that prediction is partially because prices have been trending higher over the past few months — and usually prices are lower around the first of the year.
Sometimes prices go higher because of a drop in production. Weinholzer says they don’t believe that’s the case this time. She says there just hasn’t been the usual winter reduction in demand. And now we’re headed into a period in which, historically prices have almost always risen.
Weinholzer says while the average passenger vehicle is bigger these days than 20 years ago, engines have also become much more efficient, so those are canceling factors.
A quick check of gasbuddy.com reveals a recent average gas price in northwest Iowa of around $2.499 per gallon for the cheapest gas, and for the higher-priced grade sometimes called “no ethanol” or “50 percent premium”, prices averaged about 27 cents higher per gallon. Weinholzer says coincidentally, the prices for the more expensive gas are close to what she predicts the cheaper grade gas to go for by Memorial Day — around $2.76 per gallon, with the higher grade 25-30 cents higher than that again, near $3.00 per gallon.
