Jerome Powell Says Diesel Fuel Prices Jump as Brent Tops $126
Diesel fuel and gasoline prices jumped on Thursday as Brent crude briefly topped $126 a barrel, a wartime high tied to fears the Iran war will drag on and tighten global energy supplies. The average U.S. gasoline price rose to $4.30 a gallon, putting more pressure on drivers already paying $1.32 more per gallon than before the conflict.
California drivers saw the sharpest hit at $6.01 per gallon, while the national average reached its highest level at the pump since July 2022. For households, that means a larger share of weekly spending is going to fuel before anything else changes.
Powell Links Energy to Inflation
Jerome Powell said the Federal Reserve kept its benchmark rate at the current level on Wednesday while citing elevated inflation tied to the recent increase in global energy prices. “People are still spending. How long can that go on in a world where if gas prices were to go up a bunch more, that's taking spendable money out of people's pockets?”
That warning lands directly on consumers who have no quick way to avoid higher pump prices. If fuel stays elevated, the Fed's concern is that energy costs can squeeze household budgets without needing any broader slowdown in spending to show up first.
Brent Pulls Back From $126
Brent crude for June delivery briefly moved past $126 per barrel before pulling back toward $114, while benchmark U.S. crude declined 1.8% to $104.97. Before the war began in late February, Brent was trading around $70 per barrel, a gap that shows how quickly the oil shock has widened since the conflict started on Feb. 28.
Warren Patterson said in a research note that “The breakdown of talks between the U.S. and Iran, along with President Trump reportedly rejecting Iran's proposal for a reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, has the market losing hope for any quick resumption in oil flows” — and that keeps the pressure on fuel costs even after crude eased from its intraday peak.
Gasoline Nears Daily Budget Limits
$4.30 a gallon nationally and $6.01 in California leave commuters and delivery workers with the clearest immediate burden, since both figures were still rising as oil eased from its high. The price gap between the national average and California also shows how uneven the hit is, with drivers on the West Coast paying far more than the typical U.S. motorist.
For readers filling up this week, the practical move is simple: plan for the higher bill now, not after the next round of price changes. The combination of a stalled war, a tighter oil market, and a Fed still watching inflation leaves pump prices as the most visible line item in the story.
