(Radio Iowa) – Motorists in some Iowa cities can’t miss the fact that gasoline prices have risen more than 60-cents a gallon since New Year’s Day, but one expert says it appears to be more the exception than the rule. Brian Ortner, at Triple-A Iowa, chalks it up to isolated fluctuations in certain metro areas of the state, as he says the major factors that typically influence big gas price swings just aren’t appearing. “We look at the usual suspects: markets, demand, refineries being shut down for maintenance or if there’s an emergency situation at a refinery or production plant — none of that is taking place,” Ortner says. “The thing we can see today is the markets are up a little bit from what they were in the last two weeks.”

Crude oil has been trending around 60-dollars a barrel the past few weeks and it’s slightly above that now, but he says it’s not so high that it would trigger drastic price hikes. “If we look at trends, we’re sitting almost 30-cents lower than we were a year ago, which is great,” Ortner says. “I know when you see a 50- or 60-cent increase over two weeks, you’re like, ‘What the heck’s going on?’ but when you look at the larger picture in the trend, we are sitting in a better spot than we were last year.”

Ortner wouldn’t speculate on whether the U-S military actions in oil-rich Venezuela have had an impact on gas prices in Iowa, as there haven’t been any significant jumps in the national figures. Still, some Iowa cities are seeing big bounces in pump prices. For example, regular unleaded was selling in Des Moines for a dollar-87 a gallon on January 1st, but now the average price in Iowa’s largest city is over two-50.  “Nothing is standing out to be significant in making those changes as drastic as some may have seen,” Ortner says, “and it may be just adjustments for changes that are taking place in the communities and in the markets as they move each day.”

Triple-A says the cheapest gas in Iowa is now in Council Bluffs at two-29 a gallon, while it’s the most expensive in Ames at two-66. The statewide average is two-50, which is 34-cents below the national average.