Iran war leaves U.S. gas prices at highest levels in nearly four years ahead of Memorial Day
U.S. drivers will pay gasoline prices near four-year highs when they fuel up for travel over the long Memorial Day weekend and should expect more
U.S. drivers will pay gasoline prices near four-year highs when they fuel up for travel over the long Memorial Day weekend and should expect more pain at the pump this summer if the Strait of Hormuz does not reopen. The average gasoline price stood at $4.55 per gallon on Friday, an increase of more than 50% since the U.S. and Israel began the war with Iran on Feb.
28, according to AAA. It is the most drivers have paid on the Friday before Memorial Day since 2022, following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Prices dipped slightly from Thursday when drivers paid the most on average since July 2022. Prices at the pump have surged as U.S. crude oil prices have spiked more than 40% from prewar levels due to Iran's blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.
The strait connects big Persian Gulf producers to global markets, making it the most important oil export route in the world. Its closure has triggered the largest disruption to oil supplies in history. Gasoline prices could hit $5 per gallon sometime in June if Hormuz remains closed, said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy. Oil prices fell nearly 7% ahead of the holiday this week after President Donald Trump said he called off imminent strikes on Iran to give more time for negotiations.
But Trump has repeatedly promised the war will end quickly, only for tensions with Iran to escalate and oil prices to surge again. "The president implies that there's a lot of progress, but I don't know how many more head fakes we're going to see," De Haan said.
The BriefWire