GasBuddy analyst: Americans spending $8B more on gas as Seattle nears all-time price record

Gas prices in Washington have climbed nearly $1 in the past month and are threatening to break records for unleaded gasoline as the ongoing closure of the Strait of Hormuz continues to choke global oil supplies and ripple through the U.S. economy.

Washington already set a new all-time record for diesel this week, with the statewide average hitting $6.56 a gallon, according to AAA. Some stations in Western Washington are charging more than $6.70 for diesel. Unleaded gasoline statewide averaged $5.33, closing in on the all-time Washington record of $5.56 set in June 2022.

Patrick De Haan, Head of Petroleum Analysis at GasBuddy, said gas prices across the country remain staggering.

“There’s still some areas of Oklahoma where some of the cheapest prices are below $3, and then you go out to the West Coast — whether it be Seattle or California — you’re seeing some stations at six, seven dollars,” De Haan told “Seattle’s Morning News” on KIRO Newsradio, pointing to an infamous Chevron station in Southern California charging $8.21 a gallon.

Prices to keep climbing as long as the Strait of Hormuz remains closed

De Haan said while gasoline prices rose only about a penny and a half from the prior week, the respite is likely temporary. Brent crude oil surged roughly 3% Monday, and the petroleum analyst warned that pump prices will track upward along with diesel as long as the Strait of Hormuz remains effectively closed.

“We really haven’t seen exactly what comes next,” De Haan said. “The Strait of Hormuz is essentially still kinked off, and so that will probably keep pushing oil, gasoline, and diesel prices upward here in the weeks ahead.”

The economic toll is mounting. De Haan estimated that Americans are spending roughly $8 billion more on gasoline than before the war began on Feb. 28. That diversion of household spending is already dragging on other sectors.

“We’re already seeing a drop in QSR — that is, fast food, entertainment, discretionary spending is likely to take a hit as Americans wake up to the reality of, well, I just don’t have any more money. It’s all in my tank,” De Haan said.

2022 gas prices compared to 2026

He noted that comparisons to 2022’s record prices require context: Washington did not have its cap-and-invest program — the Climate Commitment Act — during the last price spike. That policy adds costs that help explain why diesel prices in Washington now exceed even national all-time records.

De Haan said oil markets remain extremely sensitive to rhetoric from the White House and Tehran. A single session two to three weeks ago saw crude oil jump 30% on war fears, though markets have since settled into a tense but less volatile pattern.

“The market doesn’t like uncertainty,” De Haan said. “What the market’s telling you now is we’ve kind of seen both sides making similar refrains, similar rhetoric. Oil prices are probably going to continue slowly trending upward as long as this remains largely unresolved.”

He said a gasoline record for Washington, and Seattle specifically, appears to be a matter of when, not if.

“By this point, with everything going on, it probably solidifies that we will see a record for Seattle,” De Haan said. “It’s just a matter of time.”

Manda Factor is the host of “Seattle’s Morning News” on KIRO Newsradio. Follow Manda on X and email her here. 

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