By Auzinea Bacon, David Goldman, Hanna Ziady, NCS
New York/London (NCS) — Oil and gas prices remained excessive Monday following assaults on Middle East oil amenities over the weekend – and after the White House advised the warfare with Iran may final a number of extra weeks.
Gas prices within the United States rose 2 cents to just below $3.72 a gallon on common, in accordance to AAA. That’s the highest value for normal gas since October 7, 2023.
Since the beginning of the warfare with Iran, gas prices have surged 74 cents a gallon. The 26.9% acquire in US gas prices over the previous month is the most important month-to-month improve since Hurricane Katrina.
The spike threatens one among President Donald Trump’s largest speaking factors: that gas prices have dropped throughout his second time period, together with falling under $3 a gallon in December – the bottom since May 2021.
Diesel has gained much more since the warfare started, rising by $1.24. It now averages $4.99 a gallon, coming shut to hitting $5 for the primary time since December 2022. Some trucking corporations are already including hefty gas surcharges, and people prices may get handed on to customers.
On Monday, Brent crude, the worldwide benchmark, rose barely, to $103.50 a barrel. WTI, the US benchmark, was down 1% on the day to round $98 a barrel.
Both Brent and US oil soared final week to their highest ranges since 2022 – after US-Israeli assaults on Iran prompted Tehran to successfully shut the Strait of Hormuz to most oil tankers, inflicting the biggest disruption in oil supply in history. About 20% of the world’s oil provide flows by way of the waterway.
There are few indicators that the warfare, now in its third week, will probably be over quickly. US strikes on Iran’s Kharg island Friday have raised fears over oil provide as a result of most of Iran’s oil is shipped from there, ING commodities strategists wrote in a word Monday.
While the strikes seem to have focused army somewhat than vitality infrastructure, they nonetheless pose provide dangers, “particularly given that Iranian oil is about the only oil moving through the Strait of Hormuz,” they added.
Shortly after the Kharg island assaults, particles from an intercepted Iranian drone additionally fell on a key oil terminal within the United Arab Emirates, forcing a suspension of operations and underlining the menace to Middle Eastern oil amenities from the battle.
And though the United States seems to have spared Iran’s oil infrastructure for now, Trump warned in a publish on Truth Social late Friday that he would rethink that if Iran continued to intervene with ships’ passage by way of the Strait of Hormuz.
Head of macroeconomic analysis at Deutsche Bank Jim Reid summed up in a word Monday: “Markets are still concerned about further escalation, and with each passing day investors have moved to price in a more protracted conflict.”
On Sunday, Trump urged China and US allies to ship warships to assist resolve disruptions within the Strait of Hormuz, warning that NATO faces a “very bad” future if countries fail to assist. No nations have yet committed to sending warships.
Meanwhile, Iran has ramped up stress, together with laying mines within the strait and saying it will strike any US-linked oil and pure gas infrastructure. More than a dozen vessels have been struck within the Strait of Hormuz since the beginning of the warfare on February 28.
In an interview with CBS News Sunday, Iran’s international minister Abbas Araghchi mentioned Tehran is open to holding talks with international locations wanting to safely entry the strait.
Also on Sunday, the International Energy Agency mentioned that emergency oil reserves would quickly begin flowing to world markets, after member international locations agreed final week to release 400 million barrels of oil. Stocks from Asia and Oceania will probably be made out there instantly, whereas these from the Americas and Europe gained’t be launched till the tip of March, the company mentioned.
Over the weekend, the Trump administration additionally made a number of efforts to broaden US oil manufacturing to counteract rising gas prices. On Saturday, it permitted a brand new BP challenge off America’s Gulf coast – the corporate’s first new challenge since the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill within the Gulf of Mexico. And Energy Secretary Chris Wright directed Sable Offshore Corp. to restart its offshore oil rigs and pipelines off the coast of Southern California.
The efficient closure of the Strait of Hormuz impacts greater than oil. Farmers the world over depend on fertilizer shipped by way of the waterway, doubtlessly affecting grocery prices. And shipped perishables – like dairy, fruit, greens and fish – may very well be the primary batch of products to become more costly.
The-NCS-Wire
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NCS’s Chris Isidore contributed to this report.