Why Are Gas Prices Going Up in 2026?
If you've noticed rising prices at the pump, you're not imagining things. Gas prices across the United States have surged dramatically since early March 2026, and the primary cause is the Trump administration's military conflict with Iran.
The conflict has disrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow waterway between Iran and Oman through which more than 20% of the world's crude oil passes every day. With that supply choked off, crude oil prices have surged from roughly $67 per barrel past $98/barrel — briefly spiking to $119 in the first week. Three weeks in, oil is back near $100 and climbing after Israel bombed Iranian gas infrastructure. That cost goes straight to the gas pump.
Before the conflict, gas prices had actually been declining. The national average fell below $3.00 per gallon for thirteen consecutive weeks — the longest such stretch since 2021. But the Iran war wiped out all of those gains in a matter of days and kept surging. The national average has risen 86 cents since the conflict began, reaching the highest level since October 2023. Oil prices remain wildly volatile — the IEA agreed to release a historic 400 million barrels from reserves, but it hasn't been enough to tame prices.
It's not just gasoline. The war shut down Qatar's massive liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility — one of the largest in the world — after Iranian drone attacks. European natural gas prices have soared over 80%, and Asian LNG prices are up over 50%. Since more than 40% of American electricity is generated from natural gas, utility bills are climbing too. The conflict is hitting families at the pump, on their electric bill, and at the grocery store — a full-spectrum energy tax that Trump dismissed as "a little glitch." Three weeks in, the glitch shows no sign of ending.
This matters politically because Trump repeatedly promised during his 2024 campaign to cut energy prices in half within his first year in office. That deadline passed in January 2026. Instead of prices being cut in half, they're at the highest level of either of Trump's presidential terms — and rising.