I just paid $3.55 a gallon in Florida for the cheap stuff. If you think that hurts, you aren’t alone, as American drivers are currently engaging in a collective, nationwide sob-fest at the filling station.
The national average for a gallon of regular has decided to do its best impression of a rocket ship, hitting $3.25 after a 27-cent jump in a single week.
This fiscal nightmare comes as the U.S. and Israeli military operations kicked off on Feb. 28.
The real drama centers on the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow waterway that handles about 20% of the world’s oil and is currently the world’s most expensive parking lot. Iranian forces have threatened to shut the whole thing down, which has sent Brent crude oil prices screaming past $92 a barrel.
Ebrahim Jabari, a senior adviser to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, told state media that any ship trying to sneak through without a hall pass would be “set ablaze.” It’s a bold marketing strategy for global trade, to say the least.
Even though the U.S. is technically the world’s biggest oil producer—pumping out a staggering 13.6 million barrels a day—global markets are fickle and don’t really care about our “drill, baby, drill” stats when a war is brewing.
During a Tuesday press briefing, President Donald Trump played the role of the optimistic coach, telling reporters, “So if we have a little high oil prices for a little while, but as soon as this ends, those prices are going to drop, I believe, lower than even before.”
It’s a nice thought, though “a little while” feels like an eternity when you’re watching the digits on the pump spin faster than a Las Vegas slot machine.
The pain isn’t distributed equally, of course. If you live in California, you’re currently paying an average of $4.74 a gallon, with a fill-up basically the price of a vintage wine at this point.
Washington and Hawaii are also in the “expensive hobby” category at $4.41 and $4.42. If you’re looking for a bargain, you might want to move to Oklahoma or Mississippi, where prices are hovering around $2.74, though even those folks are seeing their costs climb faster than a caffeinated squirrel.
Over at OPEC+, the oil-producing nations agreed to boost production by 206,000 barrels per day starting in April. It sounds like a lot until you realize it’s basically like trying to put out a forest fire with a squirt gun, especially if Iranian exports and Gulf transit actually stop.
Mads Christensen, the executive director of Greenpeace International, pointed out the obvious by noting that our pockets “will always be at the mercy of geopolitics” as long as we’re hooked on the fossil fuel IV drip.
As for what happens next, the experts aren’t exactly handing out “don’t worry” flyers.
Patrick De Haan from GasBuddy thinks we could see another 20 to 25 cents added to the bill if this conflict doesn’t wrap up soon.
Joseph Brusuelas, the chief economist at RSM, called the U.S. economy a “dynamic and resilient, $30 trillion beast,” but warned that if gas hits $4.25, that beast is going to start feeling some serious indigestion that could slow down the whole country.
READ: South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham Hails Strike That Killed Khamenei As ‘Historic’ Turning Point
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