(Radio Iowa) – Gasoline prices in Iowa dropped a few pennies a gallon in recent days, though the statewide average of three-90 a gallon is still a dollar-ten higher than a year ago. Julie Percival, an economist at the U-S Bureau of Labor Statistics, says it’s not completely fair to compare the current prices to last year. “It can be a little bit deceptive because the year previous to that, we actually had serious declines in gasoline prices, however, we’ve certainly more than made up from those losses from 2020,” Percival says.

“We have seen sustained increases in gasoline prices for most of the year.” Percival says it’s important to note that the fuel hikes are not just because of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. She says there’s no sign of any major relief in the near-record prices in Iowa. “There’s not really going to be much change unless we saw something that would cause people to be driving less or to be using less gas or something that would increase the supply of gas,” Percival says.

Triple-A says the average price in Iowa is three-90 a gallon, 12 cents below the all-time record of four-oh-eight set in July of 2008. The national average is four-31, down just two pennies from the record high — which was set last week.