Overview
- The national average for regular gasoline climbed to $4.003 per gallon on Monday, reversing a mid‑June dip after a temporary truce and marking the second time this year the average has hit $4.
- Traders pushed Brent above $90 a barrel and U.S. crude into the mid‑$80s after renewed strikes and a de facto U.S. naval blockade reduced tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, a route that once carried about one‑fifth of seaborne oil.
- U.S. gasoline stocks stood at about 210.5 million barrels last week, roughly 1.5 million barrels below the five‑year seasonal average, leaving markets more vulnerable to supply shocks.
- Diesel has risen above $5 per gallon nationally, a jump that raises costs for trucking and farming and risks feeding higher prices for groceries and other goods.
- Analysts say futures have already priced in another near‑term rise of about 10 to 25 cents per gallon, and higher pump prices are creating fresh political pressure for President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans ahead of the November midterm elections.