WASHINGTON | Gas Prices Stay Above $4 as Iran War Attacks Near the Strait of Hormuz Push Oil Back Over $100; Ohio Averages $4.08



Author: FFP Ai Bot

WASHINGTON — Drivers are heading into the last weeks of October paying record prices for this time of year, according to AAA, and the oil market moved the wrong way again this week.

AAA put the national average for a gallon of regular at $4.31 on Saturday, Oct. 17, down about 6 cents from a week ago but up from $3.05 a year ago. Diesel averaged $6.33 nationally, close to the record of $6.53 that AAA logged on Sept. 22.

In Ohio, regular averaged $4.08 on Saturday, according to AAA — about 17 cents higher than a week ago, though still below the $4.52 average of a month ago. A year ago, Ohio drivers were paying $2.82. The Toledo metro averaged $4.09 and Lima $3.92. Ohio diesel averaged $6.22.

The federal government’s weekly survey tells a similar story. The U.S. Energy Information Administration’s Oct. 12 data put regular at $4.33 nationally, $4.15 across the Midwest and $3.87 in Ohio, up about 4 cents from the prior week. Those figures are posted on the EIA Gasoline and Diesel Fuel Update, which is next updated Oct. 20.

Oil back above $100

Crude oil is the biggest single ingredient in the price of gasoline, and it rose sharply this week. On Friday, Oct. 16, Brent crude, the international benchmark, settled at $109.86 a barrel, its highest close since May 19, Reuters reported. U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate settled at $101.41, its first finish above $100 in about a month, after gaining more than 10% for the week.

How the Iran conflict reaches the pump

The run-up in fuel prices began this spring after the United States and Israel attacked Iran in late February and Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz, NBC News reported. ABC News has described the closure as the largest oil supply shock ever recorded. The narrow strait between Iran and Oman is the main exit for oil from the Persian Gulf.

Traffic has since partly recovered. In early October, the tracking firm Kpler said oil supply from the Gulf, excluding Iran, had returned to pre-war levels, with roughly four of every 10 barrels now leaving the region without passing through the strait, ABC reported. But the U.K. Maritime Trade Operations agency said Friday that traffic through Hormuz was still about 70% below pre-conflict levels, according to Anadolu Agency.

Attacks are rising again. UKMTO said at least 10 vessels had been attacked in or near the strait in the week ending Friday, the most in a week since the war began, CBS News reported. Iran has said it is stepping up strikes in response to the U.S. blockade of its ports and tougher sanctions introduced last month, according to Reuters. “Intensified Iranian attacks drove Gulf crude flows sharply lower,” Kpler analysts wrote in a report Thursday, adding they expected a slower and more uneven recovery in Hormuz flows without a comprehensive political deal.

Video: “Where things stand with gas prices and the Strait of Hormuz,” posted by CBS News on YouTube in early October 2026.

The ‘risk premium’

Analysts say prices reflect more than the barrels actually moving. Traders build in a cushion for the chance that things get worse — often called a risk premium. On Friday, the consultancy Energy Aspects said prices reversed earlier losses “as escalation fears resurfaced amid rumours of attacks on Saudi energy infrastructure,” and said persistent escalation risks would keep prices supported. A Saudi-led coalition said it intercepted a ballistic missile fired toward the Red Sea port of Yanbu, which Saudi Arabia uses to ship oil around the strait, Reuters reported.

“Markets hate uncertainty. If there’s this overall feeling things could get bad again very quickly, we’re seeing that market price that in,” Hugh Daigle, a University of Texas at Austin professor who studies petroleum, told ABC News. Analysts also told ABC that shipping costs remain elevated because tankers face danger pay, extra insurance and costly ship-to-ship transfers, and that those costs get passed down to refiners, retailers and drivers.

Sanctions are another lever. The U.S. blockade of Iranian ports and new sanctions are cited by Iran as the reason for its attacks. On Friday, the White House issued an executive order implementing the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026; the order, posted on WhiteHouse.gov, waived many of the law’s tariffs and sanctions, Anadolu Agency reported. Separately, Washington has moved to ease limits on Russian diesel, which the Wall Street Journal reported traders and analysts said would do little to lower pump prices.

Not just Iran

The Middle East is not the only factor. Ukraine resumed strikes on Russian oil refineries this week, Reuters and the Wall Street Journal reported, and hurricane-related production shutdowns drew down U.S. crude stocks. Retail prices also tend to fall more slowly than oil. “When prices are fluctuating, gas stations want to protect their profit margin. They don’t want to cut prices too quickly,” Christopher Tang, a University of California supply chain professor, told ABC News.

Governments are trying to add supply. The International Energy Agency agreed Thursday to release more than 20 million barrels of fuel, and the U.S. Department of Energy on Friday sought proposals for an exchange of up to 17 million barrels from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, Reuters reported.

What it means for drivers

Energy costs are feeding into the wider economy. Consumer inflation rose to 3.7% in September, largely because of energy, CBS News reported. GasBuddy’s head of petroleum analysis, Patrick De Haan, told Columbus radio station 610 WTVN on Oct. 14 that what will ultimately bring prices back to normal is an end to the situation with Iran or the war between Ukraine and Russia.

AAA said in its Oct. 15 update that fall usually brings lower gas prices, but “volatility in the oil market has led to seasonal record highs this year.” Pump prices typically lag crude by days or weeks, so this week’s jump in oil may not be fully reflected at Northwest Ohio stations yet.

#GasPrices #Ohio #Iran #StraitOfHormuz

Sources

• AAA: National and Ohio average gas prices (Oct. 17, 2026) – https://gasprices.aaa.com/?state=OH
• AAA: Gas Prices Not Budging Much as Crude Oil Remains High (Oct. 15, 2026) – https://gasprices.aaa.com/gas-prices-not-budging-much-as-crude-oil-remains-high/
• U.S. Energy Information Administration: Gasoline and Diesel Fuel Update (Oct. 14, 2026 release) – https://www.eia.gov/petroleum/gasdiesel/
• Reuters via Investing.com: Oil touches $110 a barrel for first time since May on Middle East, Russia supply fears (Oct. 16, 2026) – https://www.investing.com/news/commodities-news/oil-edges-down-as-investors-weigh-possible-us-sanctions-on-shadow-fleet-4952926
• NBC News: Tech stocks erase $1 trillion of wealth as oil surges to $110 (Oct. 16, 2026) – https://www.nbcnews.com/business/energy/oil-prices-hormuz-iran-ukraine-rcna603919
• ABC News: Why are gas prices still high even as traffic improves in the Strait of Hormuz? (Oct. 8, 2026) – https://abcnews.com/Business/gas-prices-high-traffic-improves-strait-hormuz/story?id=137064093
• CBS News: Live updates, reported attacks on ships in or near Strait of Hormuz reach record high (Oct. 17, 2026) – https://www.cbsnews.com/live-updates/iran-war-us-trump-strait-of-hormuz-yemen-houthis-saudi-arabia/
• Anadolu Agency: Morning Briefing, Oct. 17, 2026 – https://www.aa.com.tr/en/world/morning-briefing-oct-17-2026/4091615
• The White House: Implementing the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026 – https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2026/10/implementing-the-lindsey-o-graham-sanctioning-russia-and-iran-act-of-2026/
• CBS News video: Petroleum analyst Patrick De Haan on September inflation (Oct. 14, 2026) – https://www.cbsnews.com/video/likely-see-most-expensive-diesel-ever-this-year-petroleum-analyst-explains/
• 610 WTVN / iHeartRadio: Will a deal with Russia help drop diesel prices? (Oct. 14, 2026) – https://www.spreaker.com/episode/will-a-deal-with-russia-help-drop-diesel-prices–75784928
• U.S. Department of Energy: Strategic Petroleum Reserve – https://www.energy.gov/ceser/strategic-petroleum-reserve
• Wall Street Journal: U.S. oil prices rise back above $100 a barrel (Oct. 16, 2026) – https://www.wsj.com/livecoverage/stock-market-today-dow-sp-500-nasdaq-10-16-2026/card/u-s-oil-prices-rise-back-above-100-a-barrel-AJVtCoJZB6nzadgOjtIJ
• YouTube, CBS News: Where things stand with gas prices and the Strait of Hormuz – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LgOWCt6NfBw