While gasoline gets your kids to school, diesel fuel gets virtually everything else where it needs to go.
The ongoing conflict between Iran and joint Israeli-U.S. forces has sent diesel fuel prices soaring well beyond gasoline prices across the country, with a handful of states seeing a dollar-per-gallon increase since the first rockets launched. Consumers are most likely to lament watching the gas pump digits fly, but a prolonged diesel fuel price spike will have a ripple effect, making everything from food to airline tickets more expensive.
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Crude oil prices closed on Friday at $91.27 and are expected to increase further once markets open Monday.
Gasoline prices
The national average for a gallon of gasoline is up 47 cents since the beginning of the Iran war, according to AAA. Customers are paying $3.45 for a gallon of regular — 16% more than they were a week ago.
With some prices rising due to refineries switching to a more expensive summer blend, the lion’s share of the added costs is attributable to Middle Eastern oil refineries shutting down. If the facilities hadn’t taken direct fire, they wouldn’t be able to ship the oil out of the Straight of Hormuz, the sole passage out of the Persian Gulf.
Diesel prices
The cost of gasoline is nothing compared to the increase in diesel fuel since the fighting began.
The national average diesel fuel price was already 77 cents-per-gallon more expensive than gasoline at the beginning of March. Once the rockets began to fly, so did that price. As of Sunday, AAA estimates the national average for a gallon of diesel fuel is $4.60, an 83-cent spike in a week.
It’s worse in certain parts of the country. Patrick De Haan, GasBuddy’s head of petroleum analysis, said Sunday morning that five states had seen a more than $1-per-gallon increase in the last week.
Mississippi, Arizona and Florida are right behind them.
Don’t buy diesel, don’t care?
Well, you should. Virtually every consumer good in America is hauled to its destination using diesel fuel.
Shipping giant UPS increased its fuel shipping surcharge on March 2, and it’s expected to do so again on Monday. FedEx is doing the same.
Jet fuel, which comes from the same kerosene-derived fuel as diesel, is also seeing a steep price increase.
According to Reuters, Jet fuel prices rose 72% to $225.44 a barrel in Singapore on Wednesday. The outlet attributed the record high to worries about potential shortages caused by war in the Middle East.
