According to the Iowa Department of Agriculture and AAA Iowa, the steady climb in prices at the gas pump continued over the past week. As of Wednesday, March 16, the price for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline averaged $3.91, a two-cent rise from last week and a $1.10 higher than a year ago. The national average climbed six cents to $4.31 per gallon. Retail diesel saw a 19-cent jump to a statewide average of $4.76 per gallon. That is $1.62 higher than this time last year but still 34 cents lower than the national average. Wholesale ethanol was unchanged at $2.16 per gallon. Heating fuels held relatively stable over the past week. Propane was up three cents per gallon to $2.17, while home heating oil dropped one cent to $4.10 per gallon. Natural gas climbed by 15 cents at the Henry Hub reporting site to $4.67/MMBtu.
