Today marks 60 days since the start of the Iran war, and the average price of a gallon of gas in the U.S. is the highest it’s been since the beginning of the conflict.
The national average price of a gallon of gas increased 8% – nearly $0.40 – in the past month, from $4.06 to $4.39, according to data from the national motor club AAA.
Since the last week of February, right before the U.S. and Israel began joint military operations in Iran, the difference is more staggering. The average cost of a gallon of gas today is 50% more – nearly $1.50 higher – than it was in the week directly before the Iran war began.
While the increases slowed in April, the average cost of a gallon of gas has still been inching higher, and some states are seeing larger recent increases than others. Residents in Ohio, Michigan and Indiana saw gas prices rise by over 20% since last week alone, while states like Florida and Arizona are reporting a weekly increase of less than 2%. California drivers are still paying the most per gallon of gas, as they have throughout the conflict – an average of $6.06, up nearly 3% from a week ago.
Western and Pacific states are paying the most for gas in the U.S., as the five states with the highest prices are California, Hawaii ($5.64), Washington ($5.61), Oregon ($5.21) and Nevada ($5.15). That’s in part due to factors like higher environmental standards for fuel and higher gas taxes in some Western states.
Despite an extended ceasefire in-place between the U.S. and Iran, gas prices are unlikely to return quickly to pre-war levels. Amid a U.S. naval blockade, and Iran’s recent seizure of three cargo ships, traffic through the Strait of Hormuz is still blocked, BBC reports. Iranian and U.S. officials appear far from a permanent agreement to end the conflict, in what CBS News calls a “costly stalemate.”
In the U.S., rising gas prices have become a strong political talking point for Democrats. Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson, a Democrat, addressed calls for him to suspend the state’s gas tax, by calling out President Donald Trump. “If people are concerned about the gas prices, they should call up Donald Trump,” he told KING 5the Seattle news outlet. On Thursday, California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom released a statement calling President Donald Trump “ill-prepared” for the war in Iran, highlighting gas price increases across the country.
The country’s lowest gas prices can be found in Georgia ($3.80), Oklahoma ($3.82), Mississippi ($3.83), Arkansas ($3.84), Louisiana ($3.84), Kansas ($3.88) and Texas ($3.90). But even those states have seen price increases since last month.
Indiana, Ohio and Michigan have been hit the hardest over the last month, where gas prices have increased between 22% and nearly 30% since April 1. In Michigan, drivers actually saw a decrease in their gas price averages last month. But since then, the price of a gallon of gas in all three states has increased by about $1.