WASHINGTON (TNND) — Brent crude closed above $101 per barrel Wednesday for the first time since May, following back-to-back strikes on oil tankers by both American and Iranian forces.
Brent crude closed above $101 per barrel Wednesday for the first time since May following back-to-back strikes on oil tankers by both American and Iranian forces. (TNND)
“Iran continues to try to hit U.S. naval ships and for every time they do that or try to do that, they’re going to lose tankers,” said Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
The national average diesel price reached another record high of $5.94, according to AAA, rising by 26 cents in just one week. In many states, especially in the western part of the country, diesel is more than $6 or $7. This time last year, the average diesel price was $3.70.
Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, said a $6 national average for diesel is “now in the pipeline; it’s unavoidable.”
The national average gas price jumped seven cents overnight to $4.22. Like diesel, many states had a higher average, some north of $5.
According to researchers at Brown University tracking the consumer burden of energy prices, the Iran war-induced surges have cost each American household more than $770 as of Wednesday. Using pre-war price data and historical seasonal price changes, the researchers estimated if the war had never occurred, the average gas price would be $2.99 and diesel would cost $3.83.
With less than two months until the midterm elections, rising costs are a liability for Republican candidates. During the end of his 2024 campaign, President Donald Trump said, if elected, “Within 12 months, your energy prices will be in exactly half.”
Before traveling to Dallas for the Republican National Committee’s first-ever midterm convention, Trump said, “Right after the election, oil prices are going to be tumbling downward. They’re going to be tumbling down and we’ll get them down. I think for gasoline, we’ll get them down below $2 per gallon.”
In an op-ed for the Houston Chronicle ahead of the Republican gathering, Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin pointed to Republicans’ 2024 promises to lower the cost of living.
“Prices are rising faster than wages, meaning that with each passing month, Americans are working hard and earning less. Trump’s war with Iran caused the average price of gas to rise above $4 per gallon for the entire month of August — and with the price of oil now soaring, gas prices may go higher still,” Martin said.
According to the RNC, Trump will speak on both nights of the convention – an event the party said will highlight an agenda focused on affordability.