Following close to two months of rising prices, fuel costs in the state held steady over the past week, according to the Iowa Department of Agriculture and AAA-Iowa. As of Wednesday, Feb. 1, the cost for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline averaged $3.34, a one-cent increase from last week and 15 cents higher than a year ago. The national average on Wednesday stood at $3.50 per gallon, a two-cent shift. Retail diesel prices dropped one-cent to $4.29 per gallon compared to $3.55 last year. The national average on Feb. 1 was recorded at $4.68 per gallon. Wholesale ethanol was unchanged from $2.16. As for home heating fuels, propane prices held steady with a statewide average of $1.94 per gallon, home heating oil costs fell six cents to $3.71 per gallon, and natural gas prices at the Henry Hub reporting site fell 39 cents to $2.57 per MMBtu.
