(AFP) – The average price of gasoline at US pumps has soared past $4 a gallon, the American Automobile Association (AAA) reported Tuesday, the highest for nearly four years on the back of the Iran war. Spiking gas prices, up from less than $3 at the end of February, represent the latest bad news for President Donald Trump after he ordered strikes on Iran in a war that has threatened to drag down the global economy. The average price was $4.018 per gallon as of Tuesday morning, the AAA data said on its website. The last time prices were above $4 was in August 2022, according to the US Energy Information Administration.
In mid-2022, prices soared to $5 a gallon in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic and after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Gas prices climbed to $5.88 per gallon in California — the nation’s most expensive gasoline market, the AAA said, followed by Hawaii ($5.45) and Washington ($5.34). The price jump heightens the political risks for Trump several months before crucial midterm elections. Iran has effectively blocked the Strait of Hormuz to adversaries the United States and Israel or anyone doing business with them. The waterway is responsible for carrying around a fifth of global crude oil and liquefied natural gas in peacetime.
Trump expressed confidence that a negotiated settlement would soon be reached but warned that if it was not — or if Iran continued to block the strait to most sea traffic — US forces would “blow up” Kharg Island and all of Iran’s oil wells and electricity generation. Oil prices slipped on Tuesday and stocks were mixed as investors weighed the report indicating he could make a deal even if the key strait remained closed. Both main oil contracts fell almost one percent Tuesday but were both still well above $100 a barrel.
Surging prices at the pump will also shock car-loving Americans as the summer vacation season nears, with prices set to rise even higher because of the Iran conflict. The US primarily imports oil from Canada and Mexico, so it is not heavily impacted by any shortages in the Middle East caused by the turmoil, but prices have risen in any case because of globally connected energy markets.
© 2024 AFP
