Overview
- On Monday the national average for regular gasoline hit a Labor Day record of about $4.14–$4.15 per gallon and diesel climbed to roughly $5.85–$5.90 per gallon, according to AAA.
- U.S. Energy Information Administration Q2 data show tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz plunged from about 21.6 million barrels per day in late 2025 to roughly 4.9 million b/d, a drop that has tightened global crude flows and helped lift WTI to about $92 and Brent to about $97 a barrel.
- U.S. refineries are operating near 98% of capacity and exports have been constrained by regional refinery damage plus Russian diesel limits and Ukrainian strikes, leaving little spare refining room to replace lost Middle East output.
- Regulators and officials have taken short‑term steps — the EPA allowed winter‑blend gasoline sales to start Sept. 1 and the administration has engaged refiners — but those moves are likely to give only modest relief unless crude flows and refinery outages improve.
- Higher diesel costs are already raising costs for trucking, agriculture and home heating and will put upward pressure on prices for goods and freight services, with sharp regional swings such as California paying far above the national average while states like Indiana and Texas pay much less.