Overview
- The national average for regular gasoline has remained above $4 per gallon every day in August and the month is on track to be the most expensive August on record, according to AAA and multiple price trackers.
- U.S. officials say tanker transits through alternate southern routes have increased, but analysts dispute the scale of restored flows and those claims have not produced clear price relief.
- Since President Trump launched strikes on Iran on Feb. 28, pump prices have risen roughly 37–40 percent from prewar levels and analysts estimate consumers paid tens of billions more for fuel in the months after the conflict began.
- Data show the burden is uneven: households in more car-dependent, Trump‑leaning counties drive more and spend a larger share of income on gasoline than urban Democratic counties, increasing hardship in rural areas.
- The administration is preparing policy and industry steps, including a planned meeting with refiners and possible emergency stock releases, as officials weigh measures to ease prices ahead of the midterm elections.