By Dar Danielson (Radio Iowa)

AAA reports the average price of a gallon of unleaded gas in the state dropped five cents in the last week and sits at $2.82 cents a gallon. AAA Iowa spokesman, Brian Ortner, says the current gas price trend will see prices at or below what they were last year as people hit the roads for the holiday.

“Across Iowa last year on Christmas Day, we were looking at $2.86, cents on an average across the state, on New Year’s about $3.02,” he says. He says the drop in the cost of oil is a big reason for the drop in gas prices. “Over 50 percent of that cost when you’re filling up at the pump is the cost of what a barrel of crude oil cost,” Ortner says. “And right now that’s trading around $70 per barrel today. You look at a couple of months ago, we were trading at that $90 a barrel. So seeing those numbers go down is a great thing. ”

He says prices could even drop a little more. “As we look towards the Christmas holiday and New Year’s holiday, we expect that you’ll see numbers stay flat, or maybe even decrease a little bit as we move into the holiday travel period, those 10 days of the 23rd through the through January 1st,” Ortner says. Ortner says the drop in gas prices is important as most Iowans who are traveling during the holiday will be driving.