DES MOINES, Iowa - Gas prices have been going up across the nation. In Iowa we're 70 cents a gallon more than we paid at the beginning of the year.
"I don't think Iowa will quite get to the $3 dollar (a gallon) level." Gas Buddy's Patrick Dehaan with Gas Buddy.
He says by early summer we should see gas prices drop again in Iowa. "All things considered, buckle up, we probably will see some more prices increases, peaking in May, and then some relief in June.
On the question of flooding having an impact on the fuel industry, Dehaan says, yes, in some areas.
"Ethanol flows via rail, not pipeline, and so that's been a hold up and made it difficult in some areas of the countries that rely on that ethanol." Dehann says.
But not here.
"Not so much in Iowa, where there's plenty of ethanol."
The Iowa ethanol industry rejects the suggestion that the ethanol industry takes part of the blame for the higher gas prices
"I'm not going to say there weren't some impacts, but at the end of the day no major distribution point that I'm aware of has run out of ethanol." Says Monte Shaw with the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association.
Shaw tells our news room that flooding in Western Iowa and Eastern Nebraska did stop two Nebraska plants and some Iowa plants scaled back production, but he says capacity was already good and other plants were able to pick up any slack.
Shaw says in general, gas prices tend to go up a little bit during the switch from spring into the busy summer season.
Patrick Dehaan was interviewed by Jeff Angelo on Newsradio 1040 WHO.