Crude oil prices are falling since a peace agreement was announced Sunday between the U.S. and Iran, though gasoline prices in Iowa are dropping more slowly.
AAA-Iowa spokesman Brian Ortner predicts it’ll be good news for Iowa consumers as we approach the busy summer travel season and the Independence Day weekend.
“Prior to the deal that was announced, the good thing is we saw gas prices dropping a little bit, but what we’re seeing today is a national average that’s now below $4 per gallon, which is a great thing to see,” Ortner says. “We haven’t seen that since March 30th-April 1st. We would hope that would continue.”
Gasoline prices in Iowa are averaging around $3.69 a gallon, and that’s only down a penny or so since Sunday.
“As we’ve seen through Memorial Day and through this crisis so far, it hasn’t really stopped people from traveling,” Ortner says. “It’s just had to make adjustments on where their spend may go. Hopefully this may help a little bit.”
The peace accord may be signed as soon as Friday, though Ortner says it’s unclear how long it will be before a normal pace of oil shipments is restored. AAA will release its July 4th travel forecast next week.
