According to the Iowa Department of Agriculture and AAA-Iowa, fuel prices continued to climb upward this week. As of Wednesday, Jan. 25, the price for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline averaged $3.33 across the state, an 11-cent rise from last week and 18 cents higher than a year ago. The national average on Wednesday stood at $3.48 per gallon, 12 cents over the prior week. Iowa retail diesel was up nine cents on the week to $4.30 per gallon compared to a year ago when prices were $3.48 per gallon. The national average for diesel on Wednesday was $4.66 per gallon, and wholesale ethanol was unchanged from $2.16. In heating fuels, propane prices held steady at $1.94 per gallon, home heating oil prices were up 17 cents to $3.77 per gallon, and natural gas prices at the Henry Hub reporting site dipped 41 cents to $2.96 per MMBtu.
