Gasoline costs 50% more in the US than it did before the Iran war
Source: AP
Updated 7:51 PM EDT, May 5, 2026
NEW YORK (AP) — The price of a gallon of regular gasoline climbed 31 cents in the past week, spiking to an average of $4.48 per gallon Tuesday, according to AAA, hitting the wallets of drivers after rising 50% since the war with Iran began.
The main reason drivers are paying more at the pump is because of the global energy crisis caused by the Iran war. The price of crude oil, which is the main ingredient in gasoline, has been climbing for most of the past two months because the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow passage of the Persian Gulf through which a fifth of the world’s crude oil normally passes, has effectively been shut, and oil tankers have been stranded there unable to deliver crude.
Many drivers were hopeful in mid-April, amid signs that the conflict could be winding down, and gasoline prices fell daily for almost two weeks. “After the announcement of the initial ceasefire, there was kind of optimism that this really could be the beginning of the end of the conflict,” said Rob Smith, director of global fuel retail at S&P Global Energy. “And so crude prices came down correspondingly, gasoline spot prices followed, and so on and ... the retailers lowered prices as well.”
But as the war continued, gasoline prices reversed course and began increasing again. “There’s a fundamental shortfall that will exist globally or fundamental struggle to meet that demand that will drive up price,” Smith said. “No matter what a government says or what any market person thinks, there is a true kind of upward pressure that’s being exerted on prices every day the Strait of Hormuz is constrained. And it is still severely constrained.”
Read more: https://apnews.com/article/gasoline-oil-war-iran-strait-of-hormuz-0e5b61be4a4c8a8a077ed5ff6f84c0ce
Link to AAA REPORT - https://gasprices.aaa.com/
= new reply since forum marked as read
I subbed to MarketWatch. 
Here is the 52-week plot of WTI snapshot with the reading at 9:09 am ET (after the "pause" drop, and then the expected "threaten to blow the house down" utterance this morning, where it's creeping back up again) - https://www.marketwatch.com/investing/future/cl.1?gaa_at=eafs
(the range was $54.98 - $119.48 from May '25 to May '26)
And the as of 9:20 am ET reading, you can see where it was down in the upper $80s at the open early this morning and as "water seeks its own level", it's back up in the mid-$90s now.
ETA - the general "breakevens" for the frackers is in the $60 - $70/bbl range -
(Mar 2025)
(I blame you guys for me doing this!! 
)
"just buy oil when it goes under $60" Can't lose. Might take a while to go back up but since the world is just "an oil cartel with militaries" they will make sure it goes up, eg start a war, shut down Venezuela, etc. I bought last summer when it was $57. $54.98 would have been even better but the window when it falls under $60 is always brief.
Was wild when oil went negative. Thought I knew the basics but had never considered that it could go negative. Literally paying people to bring trucks to Oklahoma and take delivery. Shutting down the pumps and pipelines can damage them (as we hear now about Iran's). It's a crazy business in a crazy world. 
Last edited Wed May 6, 2026, 11:38 AM - Edit history (1)
When Saudi & Russia were engaged in a production /price war in April 2020 -
I had bookmarked some DU threads back then -
OIL PRICES
https://www.democraticunderground.com/10142443453 (MAR 2020 saudi price war)
https://www.democraticunderground.com/10142443739 (MAR 2020)
https://www.democraticunderground.com/10142443135 (MAR 2020)
https://www.democraticunderground.com/100213319463 *(APR 2020)
https://www.democraticunderground.com/10142474950 (APR 2020)
https://www.democraticunderground.com/10142475187 (APR 2020)
