Although many cities in the Midwest have seen a slight drop in the cost of gas recently, prices in Ames have remained steady, but there may be relief in sight — officials said the city may be experiencing lower prices within the next few days.

According to CNN, gas prices in the Midwest have dropped an average of 4.1 cents.

David Downing, program planner for the Energy Bureau of the Department of Natural Resources, said even though the average is down, Ames is not the only city with consistent prices.

“As far as I know, rack prices are down a bit. Unless a station is high volume, it will take a few days for the prices to drop,” Downing said.

While Ames hasn’t experienced this drop yet, Downing said prices should go down in the next couple of days. He said change in prices is a very slow process.

“In some places in Iowa, the price per gallon is $1.39, but this is a slow spiral. Crude oil has dropped in the last four or five days,” he said.

Downing said he was not sure why gas prices have remained steady in Ames, but he said Dubuque is experiencing the same trend.

Ames gas station managers and employees said they don’t have control over the gas prices.

“It’s not our company. We make 6 cents per gallon. OPEC [the Organization of Petroleum-Exporting Countries] is responsible for the high prices in gas,” said Alysha Wells, assistant manager of the Kum & Go, 4506 Lincoln Way. OPEC, which controls much of the world’s oil supply, voted earlier this week to increase production of crude oil.

Jesse Johnson, junior in art and design, said students can do little to combat the higher gas prices.

“I think that regardless of the price of gas, people are going to buy it. It’s a necessity, and there is not much we can do,” Johnson said.

Stephanie Renken, a commuter student from Drake University who lives in Ames, said she has no choice but to pay what stations charge.

“I’d have to say I’m pretty indifferent. I have to go to class, so I have to pay the prices they give me. There’s really nothing I can do, but I do wonder if something is occurring between some of the stations and their constant prices,” Renken said.

Rick Thompson, an employee at the main office of the Swift Stop stations in Ames, said his company’s prices were reasonable and said his stations’ prices were competitive for Iowa.

“It seems to me that we didn’t go up high enough,” Thompson said. “We were selling below cost. When you look at prices in Des Moines, we were probably the cheapest for a while.”