The national average price for on highway diesel rose 4 cents to $5.348 a gallon in the week of August 4, according to data the U.S. Energy Information Administration released that day, as trucking fleets watch for a possible resolution to the standoff over the Strait of Hormuz. Diesel is now $1.548 higher per gallon than the same week last year. AAA's separate tracking put the national diesel average slightly higher, at $5.372.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNBC on August 3 that the United States and Iran could finalize an agreement to reopen the strait within days, which would in theory ease crude prices and eventually pump prices. The two countries signed a memorandum of understanding on June 17 aimed at reopening the waterway, but talks have dragged for more than a month. Iranian officials have publicly disputed U.S. characterizations that a deal is close, and a reported attack on a cargo ship in the strait on August 4 added fresh uncertainty about which side, if either, was responsible.
Regional diesel prices varied widely last week. The Rocky Mountain region saw the steepest increase, up 14 cents to $5.285, followed by the Midwest, up 7 cents to $5.262. West Coast prices climbed 6 cents to $6.130, while the Gulf Coast rose 5 cents to $5.141. The East Coast was the lone region to see prices fall, dropping 6 cents to $5.299.
AAA said in a statement that elevated crude prices could delay the seasonal pump price relief drivers typically see once summer road trips wind down.
Source: FleetOwner -- https://www.fleetowner.com/emissions-efficiency/news/55395603/diesel-prices-rise-to-535-gal-amid-strait-of-hormuz-tensions