Gas Prices Are Falling, But America's Big Trucks Still Have A Problem
If you've filled up your gas tank the last few days you likely got a welcome surprise, the national average for unleaded fuel prices falling below $4 a gallon for the first time in months.
Whether they will remain there – never mind continuing to fall – is far from certain, however. Talks between the U.S. and Iran to end their four-month-old war got off to a rocky start over the weekend. In a series of aggressive late-night social media posts, Pres. Donald Trump even threatened to send the U.S. military in to take over the Strait of Hormuz, the waterway through which 20% of the world's oil supply passes every day.
Cooler heads seemed to prevail by Monday morning, raising the prospect of an effective peace plan. But while that could help stabilize global oil markets, experts warn that it could take months – or longer – before fuel prices fall back to levels seen before bombs started falling on Tehran on February 28 as part of Operation Epic Fury.
Motorists Get Some Relief
On May 26 Americans were paying an average $4.45 a gallon for self-service regular, according to GasBuddy.com, with many experts warning the figure could surge past the all-time high of $5.034 set back in June 2022. But prices started to stabilize as a fragile truce began to come together, slowly dropping as it became apparent the two sides were working on some sort of settlement.
As of Monday morning, June 22, GasBuddy's live ticker showed the average down to $3.846 per gallon, having dropped below $4 last midweek. Compared to the peak price seen nearly a month earlier, that would work out to a savings of nearly $7 a week considering the typical driver purchases 11 gallons of gasoline each week – or 575 gallons annually – according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Of course, fuel prices vary widely from one part of the country to another, with the figure at $5.58 a gallon today in California, but only $3.62 in South Carolina, a national low.
It's Not Over
President Trump has suggested fuel prices could soon return to pre-war levels – around $2.90 a gallon before the bombs started falling. But not everyone is as confident. "The tendency of gasoline prices to fall slowly is partly because the raw material takes weeks to work through the system until it's delivered to consumers," said Michael Lynch, a distinguished fellow at the nonpartisan Energy Policy Research Foundation.
Even now, it remains unclear just what the situation is regarding the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway that serves as a global petroleum pipeline. Over the weekend, angered by Trump's threats, Iran declared the 104-mile Strait closed again. The White House, quoting its military command, insists shipping is underway, albeit at a reduced level. Part of the problem is that Iran seeded the waterway with dozens of mines that experts warn must be cleared before traffic can reach former levels, 60 to 70 tankers a day passing through, the EIA reported.
The Pain's Not Just at the Pump
It's not just motorists who've been feeling the pinch. The shipping industry has been particularly hard hit, diesel prices posting an even bigger jump than for gasoline, reaching $5.68 per gallon on April 15. The figure was still averaging $4.99 per gallon across the U.S. Monday morning, up from $3.72 before the war began, the EIA reports. That impacts everything from food moved from farm to market to UPS and FedEx deliveries.
Farmers, meanwhile, have watched prices soar for petroleum-based fertilizers, while airlines have been hammered by the surge for jet fuel which has gone from $2.50 to $4.81 per gallon. Domestic airline fares are up 4% since the Iran War began, international tickets up 79%, reported the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Automakers are also feeling the impact of the war as motorists rethink purchase plans. "I'm not going to sit here and say it's permanent yet, but we are seeing somewhat of a shrinking of (demand for) pickup trucks, full-size utilities and some of the heavier (vehicle lines) and an increase in the more affordable segments of the industry," GM North America President Duncan Aldred said at a Center for Automotive Research conference in suburban Detroit last week. Analysts suggest this reflects not just the cost of fuel but the overall surge in vehicle pricing, the average transaction price now surpassing $50,000, according to Cox Automotive. On the flip side, automakers report record demand for hybrid models, even as some brands, including Cadillac, Hyundia, Kia, Subaru and Toyota, have begun seeing a resurgence in sales of battery-electric vehicles.
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This story was originally published June 22, 2026 at 5:01 PM.