<\/p>\n
If you thought gasoline prices were moving higher this week, you’d be right. <\/p>\n
But why there were upward pressures on prices may surprise you.<\/p>\n
It’s true that prices in the United States had fallen about 17% to under $3.80 nationally from their mid-May peaks into the Fourth of July holiday, and the big reason for the decline was that the United States and Iran seemed interested in bringing their conflict to a halt.<\/p>\n
That stopped when Iranian drones hit a series of tankers trying to pass through the Strait of Hormuz. The Trump Administration promptly retaliated, and President Donald Trump declared the ceasefire, signed on June 17, dead. <\/p>\n
Related: As Middle East tensions explode, oil and gas prices reset<\/p>\n
So, prices moved up. GasBuddy’s price was $3.853 per gallon on July 10, up 3.6% since bottoming on July 5. The price was down 15.6% from its May 20 peak \u2014 but still up nearly 37% for the year.<\/p>\n
AAA’s national average on July 10 was $3.884, up 2.1% from the July 5 low and also up nearly 37% in 2026. <\/p>\n
The price increases came even as the Trump Administration vaguely threatened gas station operators if they didn’t start cutting prices.<\/p>\n
Possible new peace talks trim oil gains <\/p>\n
Crude oil, meanwhile, jumped a combined 7.3% on July 7 and 8 before slipping back to $75.22 per 42-gallon barrel on July 10. <\/p>\n
The price decline came as White House said July 10 that Iran and the United States will start to talk again about a permanent peace. But the U.S. won’t adhere to a ceasefire. <\/p>\n
Axios said a new round of talks may start next week, “possibly in Switzerland.”<\/p>\n
Nonetheless, crude oil was up 4.3% for the week, according to Wall Street Journal data.<\/p>\n
More Oil & Gas:<\/p>\n
The Meta Effect, Semis Surge, Wall Street Says, \u2018What War?\u2019JPMorgan resets oil price target for rest of 2026Boockvar on\u00a0Oil, Commodity Stockpiling, SushiAnother war affects oil prices<\/p>\n
But a second issue is now adding to the pressures on oil prices and motor-fuel prices. <\/p>\n
Ukraine’s recent drone attacks on Russian oil refineries have been so successful that they have triggered a widespread fuel crisis in Russia. Gasoline shortages and rationing in multiple regions have forced motorists to wait for hours to fill their tanks.<\/p>\n
If there is any fuel available.<\/p>\n
That’s an astonishing situation given that Russia has 80 billion barrels of proved oil reserves, 9th most in the world.<\/p>\n
The drone attacks have damaged refineries outside Moscow, Russia’s capital. Two drones set two oil tankers ablaze in the Sea of Azov, a small body of water just north of the Black Sea. <\/p>\n
Smoke rises from a Ukraine drone attack on a Moscow, Russia, oil refinery. Getty Images<\/p>\n
AFP via Getty Images<\/p>\n
Another drone attack in the last week even hit a refinery in Omsk, in western Siberia. <\/p>\n
Omsk is 2,240 kilometers east of Moscow. That’s about 1,400 miles, the distance from New York to Dallas, Texas. <\/p>\n
The situation is so bad that Russia is now importing refined gasoline from India, Jeff Currie, a senior advisor to the Carlyle Group, told CNBC on July 10. <\/p>\n
Russia’s economy has proved to be vulnerable to refinery attacks, Currie said. <\/p>\n
Its refineries and the pipelines servicing them were developed during the Soviet era. Each refinery gets its oil from a sole pipeline. So, if a pipeline is broken to refinery, supply can’t be rerouted, Currie added.<\/p>\n
The result is the shortages not seen in the United States since the 1970s.<\/p>\n
Related: Starbucks tries something it failed at before<\/p>\n
#war #driving #gas #prices #isnt<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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