Gas prices went up more than 30 cents a gallon last week. How high could they go? - BERITAJA

Gasoline prices are displayed astatine a Mobil state position connected April 29 successful Portland, Ore. Jenny Kane/AP

Jenny Kane/AP

Gas prices successful the U.S. person gone up much than 30 cents a gallon successful the past week and are slated to proceed rising arsenic the Strait of Hormuz remains closed amid the Iran war.

The costs for regular state arsenic of Sunday is an mean $4.446 — a week agone it was $4.099, according to AAA's substance site. U.S. state prices were an mean $2.98 connected Feb. 26 — 2 days earlier the warfare successful Iran began — and a twelvemonth ago, the mean value of state was $3.171, according to information from AAA.

Gas prices successful the U.S. are the highest they person been since precocious July 2022, said the automotive group.

President Trump has promised that erstwhile the warfare successful Iran ends, that state prices will "drop for illustration a rock." It is unclear erstwhile the warfare will end, but moreover erstwhile it does and the Strait of Hormuz is reopened, state prices could still stay high, according to experts.

And prices could spell up higher the longer the strait, which is simply a important way for lipid and earthy state trade, stays closed, said Kevin Book, co-founder of ClearView Energy Partners, a investigation firm.

"When inventories are debased and you can't get lipid retired of the crushed aliases retired of the strait, you should expect prices to support rising astatine slightest until request capitulates and starts to contract," Book told BERITAJA's Ayesha Rascoe connected Weekend Edition on Sunday. "So, we whitethorn beryllium weeks aliases moreover months, depending connected really agelong the strait stays closed, from the highest of prices from this crisis."

Book added that it could return months for ships trapped successful the Strait of Hormuz to get through, damaged accommodation to beryllium repaired, and inventories to beryllium replenished earlier state prices return to what is considered normal. And moreover if state prices were to autumn accelerated and quickly, Book predicted that the logic would "probably beryllium a bad one, not a bully one."

"It would about apt beryllium recession, undercutting demand, knocking the knees retired from nether the market," he said.

Between the weeks of March 20 and April 24, the Department of Energy released 17.5 cardinal barrels of crude lipid from the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve successful an effort to curb precocious substance prices stemming from the war, according to data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

Seven countries wrong the OPEC+ group on Sunday announced they agreed to summation accumulation by 188,000 barrels per time starting successful June arsenic a committedness to "market stability."

Higher prices astatine the state pump are besides impacting Americans' wallets amid a weakened U.S. dollar. The U.S. dollar depreciated about 10% from early January 2025 to the extremity of April 2026 — pinch losses successful the first half of 2025 being the biggest since 1973, according to an study by Morgan Stanley.

A weakened dollar could make it much costly for Americans to recreation overseas and summation the value of imported equipment — while American exporters could spot a financial boost, according to financial analysts.