Average retail gas prices fall nearly a dime in Iowa the past week

Good news for holiday travelers: Average retail gasoline prices in Iowa have fallen 9.2 cents per gallon in the past week.

According to GasBuddy?s daily survey of 2,036 gasoline outlets in Iowa, gas prices in Iowa averaged $3.14/gallon Dec. 16.

Gas prices in Mt. Pleasant Sunday varied from $3.17.9 to $3.19.9 per gallon.

That compares with the national average that has fallen eight cents per gallon in the last week to $3.25/gallon, according to the gasoline price website GasBuddy.com.

Including the change in gas prices in Iowa during the pat week, prices Sunday were 1.6 cents per gallon lower than the same day one year ago and are 13.8 cents per gallon lower than a month ago. The national average has decreased 18.3 cents per gallon during the last month and stands at 1.3 cents per gallon higher than this day one year ago.

?The drop in gas prices certainly has been well noted ? in some instances people have been calling this a gas price crash. Dub it whatever you like, but I?ll remind motorists ? gasoline prices in some areas still could set all-time record highs for Christmas Day,? said GasBuddy.com Senior Petroleum Analyst Patrick DeHaan. ?While it is excellent that gasoline prices have dropped, I?m not on board with the being a gas price crash.

?Call me a grinch,? DeHaan contined, ?call me a realist, but at the end of the day, data doesn?t lie, and that data shows that gasoline prices are still clinging near all-time highs for today?s date?