US national average gas price hits $4.56 as Iran war strains summer travel

The national average price of gasoline in the United States rose to $4.56 a gallon on Wednesday, the highest level this year, according to American Automobile Association data, as Iran's closure of the Strait of Hormuz disrupts global energy supplies. Every state's average pump price ticked above $4 a gallon on Wednesday, with Washington state setting an all-time record at $5.79 a gallon and Alaska averaging $5.27 a gallon on Thursday.

“With everything going on in the world, everything going on in the country, there is only one thing that Alaskans are talking about, and that is the prices that they are seeing in their communities as a consequence of higher fuel prices,” Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) told reporters on Tuesday. The fuel crisis is especially acute in rural Alaskan communities that are receiving their first fuel barges of the year, which locks in the high prices for months ahead, Murkowski said. “It’s a tough time for us right now.”

Stumping in a Winston-Salem restaurant on Thursday, former Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper wrapped the price at the pump into a larger affordability message on what he calls his “Make Stuff Cost Less” tour in his campaign for U.S. Senate. “I think there are a lot of potential solutions to rising costs,” he said. “But I think that the war in Iran is affecting us most of all.” Outside, waiting for the restaurant to open, LeTrice Stephens, a 44-year-old certified nursing assistant, said the price of gas — a full tank now costs her $70 instead of $50 — has her staying in more. “I go home and to work,” she said. “That’s all I can take right now.”

Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-Iowa), who is facing a difficult reelection campaign, said people in her district are “hurting” and looking to Washington for solutions to prices that have risen to $4.27 in her state. “We’re not doing enough. We need to do more,” Miller-Meeks said on Thursday. “We know that this is temporary, but we need some more clarification from the White House on what they’re going to do.”

Democrats have pounced on the elevated pump prices heading into the Memorial Day weekend. “All the families that may have been in the position to save a little bit of money to maybe make this a weekend to celebrate families and remember loved ones, that saving has been squandered because of the high cost of fuel,” said Sen. Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.). In New York, where gasoline prices topped $4.60 a gallon, Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul said in a statement that residents were hurting because Trump had failed to bring down energy costs as he had promised. “His war with Iran has driven gas prices so high that many New Yorkers won’t be able to afford to pack up the car and drive for the long weekend,” Hochul said.

Travel industry surveys show that most Americans are still planning to hit the roads this summer, but many plan to take fewer trips or are shortening their itineraries. Fifty-six percent of Americans are planning to take a road trip over two hours, down from 69 percent last year, according to a GasBuddy report released Wednesday. Two-thirds of respondents said gas prices are directly impacting their driving plans and 36 percent said they would take fewer trips because of rising costs. For the Memorial Day weekend, AAA projects a record 45 million Americans will travel at least 50 miles from home, though the steady growth in travel over the three-day weekend seen in recent years has slowed.

White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers said in a statement that Trump remains committed to “fully unleashing American energy dominance, lowering costs, and putting more money back in the pockets of hardworking American families.” “President Trump holds all the cards as he continues to exert maximum leverage over Iran with the ongoing successful blockade to bring this conflict to an end,” Rogers said. “Americans will then see gas prices plummet back to the multi-year lows Americans enjoyed prior to the start of Operation Epic Fury.”

But analysts say it’s feasible the nation could surpass the dreaded $5 a gallon mark again this summer if the Strait of Hormuz remains closed. Bob McNally, a former energy adviser to President George W. Bush who now leads the consulting firm Rapidan Energy Group, said a new all-time high gasoline price was “increasingly likely” in the coming weeks. While strong production and stockpiles have kept Americans relatively insulated from the supply shocks felt in Europe and Asia, recent government data has indicated that is changing, McNally said. Inventories of oil and gasoline fell for the sixth straight week and are below average for this time of year, the Energy Information Administration reported on Wednesday. “Politicians don’t like to see high and rising gasoline prices around Memorial Day,” McNally said. “They don’t like to see that any time, but especially the kickoff to the driving season.”