Fuel Prices At Record Labor Day High In US Thanks To Iran War And Refinery Issues

Filed 1h ago · Via HuffPost · The Buffoon Desk

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Heavy Heart

Kevin MacLeod · incompetech.com · CC BY 4.0

Photo: Rijksmuseum · CC0 · via Wikimedia Commons

Regular gasoline averaged $4.14 a gallon heading into Labor Day weekend, the highest ever recorded for the holiday and nearly a dollar above last year, according to AAA. Diesel hit its own record of $5.85 a gallon, driven by refinery strain, Ukrainian drone strikes on Russian refineries, and reduced Chinese output, with costs passed straight to shipping and groceries.

Prices climbed after the U.S. and Israel struck Iran in February, curbing traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran has refused to reopen. Energy Secretary Chris Wright, appearing on ABC, acknowledged prices are higher than last Labor Day but pointed to futures markets pricing gasoline about 35 cents cheaper two months out as evidence relief is coming.

U.S. refineries are running at 98% capacity amid Texas heat, leaving little cushion if a hurricane or outage hits. A Philadelphia mother interviewed at a Delaware gas station said her family has stayed close to home most of the summer because driving has become too expensive.

The full dispatch is available from the source below.

✒ FROM THE EDITORIAL DESK

Telling a driver paying record prices that the futures market feels optimistic is like telling a man his flooded basement will probably dry out eventually. Maybe so, but he is still standing in the water today. The energy secretary had a chart to point to and not much else, which is usually what you get when the actual fix is somebody else's war.

Source: Read the original at HuffPost → Scored: Heavy Heart · Kevin MacLeod · CC BY 4.0

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