NEW YORK — U.S. drivers faced another jump at the pump Wednesday as Brent crude settled above $100 a barrel and AAA data showed the national average for regular gasoline at $4.22 a gallon—nearly 42 percent above the $2.98 prewar average—while diesel hit a record $5.94, up 58 percent since the conflict began, the Associated Press reported via OPB.
Brent settled at $101.21 and U.S. crude at $96.05 after U.S. strikes on Iranian tankers and Houthi attacks on Saudi facilities tightened already constrained supplies. Higher diesel costs feed into trucking, farm equipment and parcel hubs, often showing up as supermarket prices and shipping fees; airlines have cut flights while raising fares as jet fuel climbs.
Market research head Lukman Otunuga of FXTM called Brent above $100 “a major psychological milestone,” saying the larger worry is inflation if prices stay elevated. Bank of America analysts this week raised their second-half oil forecast and said a durable deal before the midterms looks “increasingly unlikely.”
President Donald Trump said Wednesday he does not expect oil prices to cool before November’s elections but that they would come down “right after”—linking pump pain directly to the midterm calendar for U.S. consumers.
Sources: AP via OPB
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