Iran War Pushes U.S. Gas Prices To Highest Level Since War Began as Strait of Hormuz Remains Closed

U.S. gasoline prices climbed on Tuesday to their highest level since the Iran war began, reaching a four-year high as the U.S.-Israel war against Iran that began in February continues to unfold and the Strait of Hormuz remains closed.

The national average for a gallon of regular gasoline reached $4.176 on April 28, according to AAA, up from $4.03 just five days earlier. The figure is up $1.19 since late February, when the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran.

The latest spike puts gas prices at their highest point since April 2022, shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine, according to The New York Times.

AAA said earlier this month that the national average had crossed $4 a gallon for the first time since August 2022, when prices were still elevated from the last major global energy shock.

Prices for Brent crude and West Texas Intermediate have risen as talks over the Iran war remain at a standstill, and shipping through the Strait of Hormuz remains heavily restricted. The waterway normally carries as much as one-fifth of the world’s oil supply, making even partial disruption devastating to global fuel markets. The international benchmark topped $111 on Tuesday, while WTI prices stood above $100.

“Talks around ‘peace’ still look largely superficial and lack concrete evidence of de-escalation,” said Priyanka Sachdeva, senior market analyst at Phillip Nova. She added that “until diplomacy translates into actual barrel flows, not just statements, oil markets will remain volatile with an upward bias through May.”

AAA had warned last week that the brief easing at the pump could be fragile, saying the downward trend was uncertain because of “continued instability along the Strait of Hormuz.” At the time, AAA also noted that pump prices were already the highest for that time of year since 2022.

The increase is especially sharp because prices had briefly pulled back after a two-week ceasefire announcement earlier in April. AAA said on April 9 that crude prices had dropped below $100 a barrel but then rose again. A driver filling a 15-gallon tank at Tuesday’s national average would pay about $62.64, compared with about $44.96 at AAA’s early April reference price of $2.997 a month earlier. That is an increase of roughly $17.68 per tank.

The pressure is uneven across the country. AAA listed California, Hawaii, Washington, Oregon, and Nevada among the most expensive gasoline markets last week, with California already at $5.84 and Hawaii at $5.65. Oklahoma, Kansas, and Iowa remained among the least expensive markets, though the national trend is moving higher.