Gasoline Prices Up 43 Cents a Week After US Strikes on Iran

The average price of regular gasoline in the US reached $3.41/gallon on Saturday, an increase of about 43 cents from the previous week, according to AAA. Diesel climbed to $4.51/gallon, up 75 cents. The cause: US crude oil surged to $90.90/barrel—a 36% increase in one week—after the US and Israel attacked Iran, pushing the Middle East into war. Approximately 20 million barrels of oil per day are stranded in the Persian Gulf as tankers cannot pass through the Strait of Hormuz. Iran retaliated, attacking the US embassy in Saudi Arabia, a major oil refinery, and an LNG facility in Qatar. About 9 million barrels per day have been removed from the market.

One week. In just one week, crude oil prices surged 36%. That's not normal market fluctuation—it's a geopolitical shock directly hitting Americans' wallets. The core issue is the Strait of Hormuz. This narrow waterway is the choke point for about 20% of global oil supply. Iran knows it. The US knows it. But when the US and Israel launched attacks, it seems no one had a clear plan to keep the Strait open. Now, oil tankers lie idle, marine insurance has collapsed, and drivers in Vermont and Louisiana are paying the price at the pump. Trump stated the military operation would last four to five weeks. But the very next day, he declared Iran must surrender unconditionally—a stance with no clear diplomatic off-ramp. Energy experts are blunt: Trump's $20 billion insurance for the Gulf region doesn't solve the problem. When all it takes is one person with a rocket launcher on the shore to fire at an oil tanker, no insurance policy can convince a captain to set sail. More broadly, this situation exposes a major paradox of US energy. The US is a net oil exporter, yet it is still heavily affected because oil is a global commodity. Furthermore, US crude oil is primarily light, sweet crude—whereas many coastal refineries are designed for heavier oil from the Middle East. Result: The US exports crude oil while simultaneously importing refined gasoline—a strange loop that this crisis is fully exploiting. A 75-cent/gallon increase in diesel prices might sound small, but...

First-generation refugee elders living on fixed incomes in communities like Garden Grove or Houston will immediately feel a double pressure: rising gasoline prices mean higher costs for travel to clinics, markets, or churches—while inflation from logistics costs will push food prices up accordingly. Those who send remittances to Vietnam monthly are also indirectly affected. As the cost of living in the US increases, the amount of money available to send home naturally shrinks. With hundreds of thousands of Vietnamese families relying on...