Overview
- AAA reports Arizona’s average near $3.86 after a nearly 20% jump in recent days, with Phoenix-area prices topping $4 per gallon and weekly increases above 50 cents.
- The national average climbed to about $3.47 per gallon on March 9, up from $2.99 a week earlier and $2.90 a month ago, according to AAA.
- Crude markets whipsawed after late‑February strikes and Strait of Hormuz disruptions, with Brent briefly near $119 a barrel before easing toward the mid‑$90s on Monday.
- Constraints at the Hormuz chokepoint, the spring shift to more expensive fuel blends, and reduced West Coast refining capacity are driving the sharpest increases in Western markets.
- U.S. Central Command said a service member died from injuries in a recent Iranian attack, a security development cited alongside fuel-market volatility.