According to data released by the Iowa Department of Agriculture and AAA-Iowa, the downward trend for motor fuel prices continued over the past week. As of Wednesday, July 20, the price for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline averaged $4.24, down 22 cents from last week but $1.25 higher than one year ago. The national average was $4.47 per gallon, a 16-cent drop over the previous seven days. Retail diesel prices declined by 11 cents per gallon to $5.16. In July 2021, retail diesel averaged just $3.12. Iowa remained below the national average for diesel, which stood at $5.50. Wholesale ethanol was unchanged at $2.16 per gallon. Natural gas prices bucked the trend and jumped $1.25 to $7.96 per MMBtu at the Henry Hub reporting site.
