Overview
- AAA put the national average at $4.48 a gallon on Tuesday, up about 30 cents from a week ago as prices climbed across all 50 states.
- Fresh unrest near the Strait of Hormuz, where roughly a fifth of seaborne oil moves, intensified after Monday’s Iran–UAE attacks and U.S. strikes on Iranian boats, adding risk that is lifting crude and pump prices.
- Regional gaps are stark with California averaging about $6.11 and some Bay Area stations near $7.89, Illinois around $4.93 with Chicago spots over $6, and Oklahoma the lowest near $3.89.
- The surge is squeezing budgets as GasBuddy estimates Americans have paid $23.9 billion more for gasoline since March 1, and filling a 36‑gallon Ford F‑150 now runs about $160 at the U.S. average.
- Analysts see a tentative 20–40 cent pullback in the Great Lakes if refinery outages ease, though the broader outlook hinges on the Iran war despite White House assurances of rapid relief once it ends.