Diesel Hits Record $5.85 as Iran War Drags
Diesel Hits Record $5.85 as Iran War Drags
The News
The average US price of diesel hit an all-time high of $5.85 a gallon on Friday, according to AAA, as a six-month-old war with Iran keeps disrupting the world's flow of fuel.
The price topped the previous record set in 2022, Axios reported. It jumped 17 cents in just the past two days.
Diesel moves the country's freight — trucks, trains and boats — so the cost lands on almost everything Americans buy.
The Numbers
$5.85 a gallon, per AAA. Up 17 cents in two days. The first time the national average has ever been this high.
Timeline
Diesel sets its previous all-time high during that year's energy shock.
The war with Iran begins. Farmers, truckers and freight companies have been absorbing higher diesel costs ever since, Axios reported.
The strangling of the Strait of Hormuz throws the global market into disarray, while Ukraine's drone campaign against Russian refineries further strains worldwide refining capacity, according to Axios.
Diesel climbs steadily. FedEx and UPS raise their fuel surcharge rates to cover the increase.
The average price spikes 17 cents in two days.
Diesel hits $5.85 a gallon, an all-time US record.
Reactions
"Diesel is an input to virtually everything we consume," Erich Muehlegger, an economics professor at the University of California-Davis, told Axios.
Muehlegger also offered a reality check: fuel costs are only a fraction of the prices consumers actually see at the register.
Jason Miller, a supply chain management professor at Michigan State University, told Axios that at this point in the year the US would normally be building significant diesel inventory ahead of the fall refinery maintenance season.
Axios framed the spike as a growing political problem for President Trump.
What's Next
The Independent reported that experts warn price increases will mount the longer diesel stays expensive, with the strain showing up first in groceries — produce, meat and other perishables that are hauled frequently or harvested with diesel-powered farm equipment.
Some businesses have already passed costs to customers as added fees on online orders and packages in the mail.
Axios said the number to watch is whether the increases reach core goods rather than just retail gasoline and electricity. If they do, it becomes harder for the Federal Reserve to justify cutting interest rates — or could push rates higher.
More
Smaller carriers are the most exposed. Large operators like FedEx and UPS have already lifted fuel surcharges to absorb the volatility; small businesses running thin margins have fewer places to put the cost.
Beyond food, The Independent noted that clothing, cosmetics, furniture and a long list of other goods all ride to market behind a diesel engine.
Poll
Have record diesel prices changed what you pay for everyday goods?
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