Here in Massachusetts, the invasion of Iran is being felt at the gas pumps.
While pumping gas early Tuesday morning at the Nouria gas station in Easthampton, truck owner Brian Robinson said that normally he can refill his whole tank with $70. But after refilling half his tank, Robinson said he might need to get his Harley motorcycle out to save a few dollars getting around.
“I had a half tank yesterday, and it was $72 to fill it,” said Robinson, adding that he’ll be more conscious than usual about his gas use.
Robinson is far from alone, as drivers across the nation are facing surging energy costs on the heels of the Trump administration’s decision to invade Iran last week.
On Monday, the national average gas price was $3.48 a gallon, up from $2.90 a month ago before the war, according to AAA. Here in the Bay State, prices went from $2.91 last Monday to averages of $3.31 this week.
Many gas station-goers on Tuesday didn’t seem hyper-anxious about the price spikes, but in many places locally the increased prices haven’t fully taken effect.
In the early morning hours of Tuesday, Cumberland Farms in Florence was still at $2.99 a gallon. But several spots in Easthampton, including the Nouria and Gulf on Main Street, had already risen close to $3.50 a gallon.
President Donald Trump said that the invasion of Iran was “something that had to be done,” despite the energy cost aftermath.
“We’re putting an end to all of this threat once and for all, and the result will be lower oil prices, oil and gas prices for American families,” he said at a news conference Monday.
According to Mark Shieldrop, spokesman for the Massachusetts chapter of AAA, it remains unclear when the prices can be expected to go down again, but he said it wouldn’t be unreasonable to expect prices could climb north of $4 a gallon.
While the rise in gasoline prices impacts nearly everyone, the cost of diesel fuel could carry both “profound impacts” and “long-term ramifications for the economy,” he said. According to Shieldrop, diesel prices have spiked to $4.69 a gallon this week, compared to $3.95 a gallon last week.
Topping off his tank in Florence, retiree Stephen Dostal said he doesn’t drive much and isn’t too worried about himself. But he said the diesel surge will probably impact his son who owns a fleet of four trucks for his business, Dostal Tree Service.
“It probably will affect it [his business] somehow,” he said. “He has four trucks and they’re diesels, so I imagine that’s going to affect it somehow. I would think he’ll probably eat some of it, but he’ll probably have to raise prices a little bit, especially if they go up.”
He said his son survived when prices were high a couple years ago. “We will survive, but it’s just gonna be a little harder,” he said.
Sherry Grabon of Florence vented her frustration as she filled her car at the Florence Cumberland Farms. While Grabon doesn’t expect to cut down her driving much, she said that she will be impacted.
“I’m an auxiliary member of the VFW, and we do a lot of traveling to the eastern part of the state, so it will affect me,” she said, adding that, “nobody is happy about prices increasing.”
A Quinnipiac poll conducted over the weekend found that three-quarters of registered voters were concerned about the war raising gas and oil prices. Recent polling also suggests that a majority of voters expect the U.S. action against Iran to last months or longer, and many worry it is making the U.S. less safe.
The country is more divided about the attack on Iran.
The same Quinnipiac poll found about half of registered voters oppose the U.S. military action against Iran while about 4 in 10 support it. The majority of Democrats were against it (89%), the vast majority of Republicans for it (85%) and independents against it (60%).
Ethan Rivera, a senior at Northampton High School, drives both himself and his sister to school every day. Then he takes himself to work for his part-time job in Easthampton.
“I pump gas a lot, probably twice a week,” he said.
While Rivera is less concerned about the extended future of gas prices since he will have a full-time summer job before leaving for college, he said his part-time paycheck will be impacted.
“I’m not making that much money, I’m part-time, I make part-time money, so that’s definitely going to affect me if it keeps going up,” he said. “If it goes up it’s going to have negative effects on my bank account.”
For those looking to save during the price surge, Shieldrop said that people should stay on top of routine service and check tire pressure, as well as drive slower. All of these things can help increase gas mileage. He also advises people to shop around for the cheapest source of gas, something which can level out prices in a “competitive” gas market.
Meanwhile, oil prices have also surged since the attack on Iran, as oil production and shipping across the Middle East has been impacted.
Disruptions caused the price of oil to spike Monday, only for it to swiftly fall back after Trump suggested the war could be near an end.
The price of Brent crude, the international benchmark, briefly surged to $119.50 per barrel on Monday — its highest level since the summer after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022. West Texas Intermediate, which is produced in the U.S., also soared to $119.48 per barrel at one point. But those prices fell to under $90 late Monday, as markets made significant reversals after Trump told CBS News he thinks “the war is very complete.”
That’s much higher than the roughly $70 a barrel crude was selling for before the U.S. and Israel launched the war against Iran on Feb. 28.
Reporting from the Associated Press was used in this story.