Iowa gas prices rise 6 percent in January

As gasoline demand resumed its climb, Iowans paid about 6 percent more for regular unleaded this month than they did in December.

The average statewide price of regular unleaded with 10 percent ethanol was $2.64 per gallon on Jan. 15, said the Iowa Office of Energy Independence in its monthly energy price report. That was up 16 cents from the last survey on Dec. 16, and 56 percent higher than the average price of $1.82 per gallon a year earlier.

Gas prices had fallen last year because of the recession, but cold weather and faint signs of economic recovery have begun to stimulate the market for petroleum and its byproducts, according to Data Analyst Kerri Johannsen of the Iowa Office of Energy Independence.

The trading price for a barrel of West Texas Cushing sweet crude oil on Jan. 14 was $79.65 per barrel, up 15 percent from a month earlier, and 114 percent from a year earlier.

The price of heating fuels increased over the past month with the arrival of extreme cold weather. Natural gas increased by 5 cents per decatherm to $5.61 per decatherm on Jan. 15. A survey of dealers found the average statewide price of propane was $1.83, also up 5 cents from a month earlier.

The cost of No. 2 heating oil, used mainly in older buildings, increased by an average of 54 cents per gallon in the past month to $2.51 per gallon.

Strong stocks of natural gas in storage may help dampen price swings this winter. Natural gas in storage within the United States total 2,852 billion cubic feet as of Jan. 8, 121 billion cubic feet higher than the five year average.