Gasoline prices in the United States jumped again Friday, the latest in a series of increases that has pushed up the price of a gallon by 34 cents, or about 11%, since the start of the war led by the United States and Israel against Iran.
The average price of unleaded gas hit $3.32 per gallon on Friday, the highest since September 2024, according to the AAA motor club. A surge in oil prices suggests that prices at the pump may continue to rise. The U.S. crude benchmark settled on Friday at $90.90 a barrel, up 12.2% for the day and 35.6% for the week.
The rise in costs could become a political problem for President Donald Trump, who has frequently boasted about how gasoline prices have fallen during his second term, and exaggerated the extent of the decline. After the recent gains, prices are now higher than when this term began.
Energy prices have jumped as oil and gas shipments out of the Persian Gulf were choked off by the fighting, as well as Iranian threats to oil tankers looking to traverse the narrow waterway that serves as the Gulf’s exit.
In an interview Thursday with Reuters, Trump suggested that the military operation in Iran was his priority and that he was willing to tolerate a rise in prices. “They’ll drop very rapidly when this is over, and if they rise, they rise, but this is far more important than having gasoline prices go up a little bit,” he said.
By Friday, domestic crude oil futures had gained more than 30% since the conflict began on Feb. 28. Rising energy prices could also affect everything from the cost of an airline ticket to home heating.
The price of diesel has risen even faster than regular gasoline. A gallon of diesel in the United States cost on average $4.33 Friday, the data from AAA showed. That’s the highest since November 2023. This could directly affect the cost of shipping goods, pressuring businesses to raise prices.
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
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