NC gas prices spike a second straight day as Middle East conflict continues
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- NC gas average rose to nearly $3 after markets reacted to US‑Israeli attack on Iran.
- Diesel rose to $3.93, nearly 40 cents higher than a week ago, straining transport costs.
- Strait of Hormuz tensions helped push oil prices up about $10 a barrel over several days.
Gas prices climbed for a second straight day in North Carolina as the world oil markets respond to the US-Israeli attack on Iran over the weekend.
The average price of regular gas rose another 8 1/2 cents overnight to nearly $3 a gallon statewide Wednesday and several cents higher than $3 in the Triangle, according to AAA. Prices are up about a quarter a gallon since Saturday when the first bombs fell on Tehran, Iran’s capital.
The average price of diesel in North Carolina spiked another 18 cents Wednesday, to $3.93 a gallon. Diesel prices are nearly 40 cents a gallon higher than a week ago.
Nationwide, the average cost of a gallon of regular gas was about $3.20, the highest since September and about a dime more a gallon than a year ago, according to AAA.
World oil prices rose about $10 a barrel between Friday and Tuesday morning in response to the uncertainty in global energy markets and continue to fluctuate.
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, through which 20% of the world’s oil supply moves by ship. With Iran threatening to attack ships passing through the strait, many have stayed away, threatening oil supplies.
President Donald Trump said Tuesday that the U.S. Navy might begin escorting tankers through the straight “if necessary” and that the U.S. government might begin offering special insurance to ease concerns of ship owners and operators.
“If that happens, it likely would lead to an improvement in the price of oil,” said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at the website GasBuddy.com. “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.”
Rising fuel costs hit not only consumers but also businesses.
“It’s definitely something we’re monitoring,” said Lukas Johnson, chief commercial officer for Breeze Airways.
Johnson was visiting Raleigh-Durham International Airport on Wednesday to mark the airline’s first international departure from the Triangle, to Punta Cana, Dominican Republic.
“It’s the biggest expense for airlines,” Johnson said. “Naturally for all airlines, the flights that perform weaker are going to be the ones we take a look at and say, Can we support this higher fuel price? But for really strong flights, we should be OK.”
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.
Wednesday marks the first time that the statewide average of gas has hit $3 a gallon since the summer of 2024.
