Gasoline prices have taken another big leap in Iowa, rising a dime a gallon in the past week and 50 cents a gallon in the past month. Pam Moen, at Triple-A, says a jump in crude oil prices and production problems are largely to blame. Moen says, “We have a number of refineries, 10 or 12 of them across the country, that are having production outages and are tightening supplies and helping to drive prices up.” Pump prices are unlikely to head back down any time soon, she says, with many refineries getting ready to start producing summer-blends of fuels.

“Typically, during that process, our supplies are tighter than they would be otherwise and that tends to put upward pressure on prices,” Moen says. The statewide average for a gallon of gas is three-58. That’s up ten-cents a gallon in the past week and it’s up 50-cents a gallon in the past month. Iowa’s current average gas price is three-cents below the national average.

(Radio Iowa)