Energy & Environment

Gas prices rise 30 cents in past week

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by Max Rego - 05/04/26 7:56 PM ET

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by Max Rego - 05/04/26 7:56 PM ET

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Domestic gas prices have increased by more than 30 cents in the past week, as the U.S. military began efforts Monday to escort commercial vessels through the Strait of Hormuz.

The national average price of a gallon of regular gas is more than $4.45 as of Monday, according to AAA. That is more than 34 cents higher than a week ago and more than 35 cents higher than a month ago.

The price of diesel gas, meanwhile, is more than $5.64 as of Monday, nearly 20 cents higher than a week ago, according to AAA.

The price of oil, and subsequently gas, has increased due to the Iranian military severely restricting shipping through the Strait of Hormuz in the wake of the initial U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran.

On Monday, the U.S. Navy began escorting ships through the waterway, with U.S. Central Command (Centcom) confirming the safe transit of two cargo ships.

Adm. Brad Cooper, the head of Centcom, told reporters Monday that U.S. forces have “reached out to dozens of ships and shipping companies to encourage traffic flow” through the strait.

The mission, though, prompted retaliation from the Iranian military.

Cooper said that Iranian forces opened fire on U.S. warships in the region, to which the American military responded by destroying six Iranian small boats.

As strikes in the Strait of Hormuz persist, the price of gas continues to rise in the U.S. Patrick De Haan, the head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, noted Monday on the social platform X that gas prices rose in every state over the past week.

Haan later wrote on X that U.S. oil and product exports have increased by nearly 30 percent since the war began on Feb. 28. Roughly 100 million are leaving American shores in the last seven days alone, Haan added.

That, he noted, is “driving prices higher” at the pump stateside.

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