Gas prices rise sharply in NC and nationwide after weekend attack on Iran
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- North Carolina average regular gas climbed 15 cents overnight to $2.91 a gallon.
- WTI crude rose $10 a barrel as Strait of Hormuz transit fears tightened oil supply.
- Nationwide regular gas topped $3 for first time since Thanksgiving, raising costs.
Gas prices have spiked across North Carolina after the U.S.-Israeli attack on Iran over the weekend.
The average price of regular gas rose 15 cents overnight to $2.91 a gallon, according to AAA. The average diesel price is up nearly 18 cents, to $3.75 a gallon.
Nationwide, the average cost of a gallon of regular gas topped $3 for the first time since the week of Thanksgiving.
The increases reflect a sharp rise in the price of oil. The price of West Texas Intermediate crude rose $10 a barrel between Friday and Tuesday morning in response to the uncertainty in global energy markets.
Iran is a major producer of oil. But the larger concern is the Strait of Hormuz, the passage in and out of the Persian Gulf on Iran’s southern border, said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at the website GasBuddy.com. Twenty percent of the world’s oil supply moves through the strait, De Haan said, and vessels fearing attacks from Iran are now hesitant to pass.
De Haan said he expects the United States and oil-producing nations in the region to try to secure the gulf and get ships moving again.
“If that happens, it likely would lead to an improvement in the price of oil,” he said Monday. “Confidence is the name of the game when it comes to the Strait of Hormuz. Nobody really has confidence right now to transit through the strait, and that’s why oil prices are reacting.”
Gas prices had already begun to inch up ahead of the summer driving season, when demand increases and refineries switch to more expensive formulas that produce less pollution. The average price of a gallon of regular in North Carolina rose about a dime between early January and the end of February.
Tuesday’s prices are about what drivers were paying in North Carolina last June.
This story was originally published March 3, 2026 at 10:12 AM.
