"I now expect the national average price of gasoline to reach $4 per gallon in the next 7-10 days, if not sooner," GasBuddy analyst Patrick De Haan said. The national average for a gallon of regular gasoline returned to $4 on Monday, up from roughly $3.79 in early July and from $3.14 a year earlier, according to AAA and contemporaneous market trackers. The rebound followed a rally in crude after renewed U.S.-Iran hostilities and disruptions to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. Households and transport-intensive businesses face the most immediate pressure, AAA spokesman Robert Sinclair Jr. warned, because diesel and gasoline cost increases feed into higher freight and grocery prices.
"I now expect the national average price of gasoline to reach $4 per gallon in the next 7-10 days, if not sooner," GasBuddy analyst Patrick De Haan said.
What pushed pump prices back to $4?
Crude oil rallied as U.S.-Iran hostilities escalated and shipping through the Strait of Hormuz was disrupted. The market reacted to a string of U.S. and Iranian attacks and to policy moves such as the reimposition of a U.S. naval blockade, which cut tanker traffic through the strait and tightened global supply.
Benchmark oils rose in the days before the national average hit $4. Traders priced in lower tanker transits and higher risk to shipments, which amplified refinery feedstock costs that dominate retail fuel pricing. Analysts also flagged a rapid rebound in oil after the collapse of a recent truce and after the revoking of waivers on Iranian oil.
Households are the most visible payers at the pump. But transport-intensive businesses carry much of the immediate burden, because diesel powers freight and retail distribution networks.
AAA data cited by reporting shows U.S. regular-gasoline averages climbed from about $3.79 on July 7 to $3.84 on July 14, then to $4 on Monday as oil prices resumed an upward trend.
Diesel averages have moved past the $5-per-gallon mark in recent reports, a level that translates quickly into higher logistics costs for retailers and manufacturers.
Those higher logistics costs tend to flow into grocery and consumer prices, Robert Sinclair Jr. said, which raises the chance of broader inflationary pressure ahead of the U.S. midterm elections.
If the Strait of Hormuz stays intermittently closed or heavily restricted, already low global oil inventories could tighten further and keep fuels elevated.
Brent and U.S. crude were trading notably higher as tanker transits declined and military and diplomatic tensions escalated. That correlation between oil benchmarks and pump prices is what made the rise swift rather than gradual.
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Next weekly fuel price reports and developments in shipping through the Strait of Hormuz will show whether recent supply disruptions keep pump and freight costs elevated. If disruptions continue, households and transport‑intensive businesses could face sustained higher bills. Originally reported by AP.
This article was created with AI assistance.
