Gasoline prices in Cedar Rapids dip below $2 a gallon

Gasoline prices have dipped below $2 a gallon in southwest Cedar Rapids on abundant supply and low seasonal demand.

Casey's, Cenex, Kum & Go, Murphy Oil, Road Ranger and several other convenience stores near Westdale have dropped the price of unleaded gas with 10 percent ethanol to $1.92 a gallon. On the east side of Cedar Rapids, prices appear to be holding above $2 a gallon, with some retailers charging $2.10 a gallon.

The price of unleaded gasoline with 10 percent ethanol blend in Iowa averaged $2.19 a gallon on Wednesday, down 11 cents from last week's price and 67 cents lower than a year ago, according to the Iowa Department of Agriculture. Prices continued to drop through the weekend,

Harold Hommes, fuel specialist with the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship, said an abundant supply of gasoline and a normal seasonal decline in consumption are holding prices down.

'Now that we have all the refiners back on line, they're processing crude and running above 90 percent capacity,” Hommes said. 'The real glut right now is not so much crude oil, but ample supplies of refined product - gasoline and diesel fuel.

'The refiners want to move it and that's putting a lot of downward pressure on prices. We're also at a point in the driving season where this is not the Fourth of July.”

The lowest gasoline price in Iowa on Monday was $1.79 a gallon in Clear Lake and Mount Pleasant, according to GasBuddy.com.

The average price of gasoline in the United States resumed its slide over the past two weeks, dropping 11 cents to $2.14 a gallon, the lowest since late January, according to a Lundberg survey released Sunday.

Current retail gas prices were 70 cents below the year-ago period and at the lowest level since Jan. 23, when the average price was $2.07 per gallon. Benchmark crude oil prices were under pressure from hefty supplies and a strong U.S. dollar, the report said.

'The pump price may well continue dropping during the rest of November and into December,” said survey publisher Trilby Lundberg in emailed comments.