Gasoline prices in the United States jumped seven cents to $3.32 a gallon, on average, on Friday, the latest in a series of price increases in the week since the start of the war led by the United States and Israel against Iran.
That was the highest since September 2024, according to the AAA motor club, and could become a political problem for President Trump, who has frequently boasted about how gasoline prices have fallen during his second term, and exaggerated the extent of the decline. After the recent gains, prices are now higher than when this term began.
The price of gas has risen by 34 cents, or about 11 percent, over the past week.
Energy prices have jumped as oil and gas shipments out of the Persian Gulf were choked off by the fighting, as well as Iranian threats to oil tankers looking to traverse the narrow waterway that serves as the gulf’s exit.
In an interview on Thursday with Reuters, Mr. Trump suggested that the military operation in Iran was his priority and he was willing to tolerate a rise in prices. “They’ll drop very rapidly when this is over, and if they rise, they rise, but this is far more important than having gasoline prices go up a little bit,” he said.
By Friday, domestic crude oil futures had gained around 30 percent since the conflict began on Feb. 28, an increase that oil refiners have passed on to consumers at the pump, or to businesses in the form of increased diesel costs. Rising energy prices could also affect everything from the cost of an airline ticket to home heating.
