Gasoline prices held well below the $3 mark in the latest Iowa fuel summary report from AAA-Iowa and the Iowa Department of Agriculture. As of Wednesday, Dec. 21, the price of a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline averaged $2.86 across the state. That is a five-cent drop from last week and 17 cents lower than a year ago. The national average on Wednesday was down 10 cents to $3.11 per gallon. Retail diesel prices continued trending downward to $4.33 per gallon, a 16-cent decrease from the prior week. However, the cost is still more than a dollar higher than the same time in 2021. Record highs were recorded in June of this year when gasoline averaged $4.76 per gallon and diesel hit $5.44 per gallon in Iowa. The national average for diesel declined to $4.73 per gallon. Wholesale ethanol held steady at $2.16. In heating fuels, propane prices were down one cent to a statewide average of $1.93, home heating oil prices fell 53 cents to $3.54 per gallon, and natural gas prices at the Henry Hub reporting site were down 86 cents to $5.53 per MMBtu.
