Prices at the pump hit $4 a gallon in all 50 states—just as summer driving season begins
This week marked a discouraging milestone for American motorists. The average gas price is now on the wrong side of the $4 mark in every state in the country, an increase that coincides with the start of the busy summer driving season, which kicks off on Memorial Day weekend.
GasBuddy, which tracks fuel pricing, said prices this summer could average $4.80 per gallon from Memorial Day through Labor Day, with the possibility of all-time highs if the Strait of Hormuz remains closed for a significant portion of the summer. The national average could easily exceed $5 later this summer if the war is still going.
Prices have spiked since early March because of the war in Iran and the effective closure of the strait, through which 20% of global crude oil volumes typically flow. Prices are the highest since 2022, when Russia invaded Ukraine, but that year costs also fell sharply by the end of the summer—a development that appears unlikely to be repeated in 2026.
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