Average gasoline price climbs 31 cents in past week, crossing $4.50 a gallon

The average price of gasoline in the U.S. reached $4.53 per gallon on Wednesday, according to AAA, an increase of 31 cents in a week and of 50 percent since the U.S. and Israel began their war against Iran.

Iran has responded to the military operations by closing the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial oil and energy waterway, with the U.S. later imposing its own blockade as well.

Prices began to fall when President Trump on Tuesday evening put a pause on “Project Freedom,” an initiative to defend ships passing through the strait, as Washington and Tehran inch closer to agreeing to a one-page memo to end all hostilities, Reuters reported. Pakistani mediators requested the pause, though Trump said the U.S. blockade in the strait will remain in place.

West Texas Intermediate, the primary crude oil futures index for the U.S., dipped down to more than $96 per barrel on Wednesday after having reached more than $100 a barrel since the war in Iran started. Brent crude, the global benchmark, has also seen a decline, though it is still high at more than $102.

Gas prices climbed to more than $4 in late March, a milestone not reached since after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, according to GasBuddy’s data.

Early ceasefire talks helped to bring those prices down slightly, and “there was kind of optimism that this really could be the beginning of the end of the conflict,” Rob Smith, director of global fuel retail at S&P Global Energy, told The Associated Press. But escalating tensions seen during the ceasefire, including the U.S. blockade, have kept prices rising.

“There’s a fundamental shortfall that will exist globally or fundamental struggle to meet that demand that will drive up price,” Smith said. “No matter what a government says or what any market person thinks, there is a true kind of upward pressure that’s being exerted on prices every day the Strait of Hormuz is constrained. And it is still severely constrained.”

Trump and other administration officials have told the public since the conflict began that gas prices would fall quickly as soon as it ended. The president campaigned on lowering prices after regularly knocking former President Biden over high inflation.

Most Americans say they are unhappy with gas prices because of Trump. A Reuters/Ipsos poll released late last month shows that 77 percent of Americans blame Trump for rising gas prices.