How rising gas prices are impacting the average US household
Gas prices have climbed swiftly since the start of the war, fueled by the effective closing of the Strait of Hormuz that cut off 20% of the world’s oil supply.
Prices hit a nationwide average of $3.91 per gallon on Friday, up 93 cents from February 28, when the conflict began, News.Az reports, citing CNN.
Collectively, the figures are staggering. Drivers have pumped nearly $4.5 billion more into their gas tanks since the US and Israel first attacked Iran, estimated Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, an online price tracker.
A household with two cars is spending an average of $20 to $40 a week more on gas than prior to the conflict, De Haan said.
“This is money that is not being funneled into the rest of the economy because Americans are leaving it behind at the pump,” he said.
It’s unknown when the war – and attacks on the Middle East’s energy hubs – will end. If gas prices top $4 a gallon and remain there for six months, the typical household will spend about $600 more on fuel during that period, said Scott Hoyt, senior director at Moody’s Analytics. In total, its spending will increase by $750 because higher gas prices will cause other items to become more expensive.
And the spike will hit lower-income Americans even harder because they tend to spend a larger share of their household budgets on energy, he said.
By Faig Mahmudov
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