U.S. experts warn: If the fighting continues, gasoline prices will soon surpass the $5 per gallon mark.

Caixin Media April 3 (Editor: Liu Rui) The remarks made by U.S. President Trump to the nation on Wednesday (U.S. Eastern Time) delivered a significant jolt to international markets—Trump vowed to take more forceful action against Iran within the next two to three weeks, prompting global oil prices to rise rapidly.

Meanwhile, market experts said that with the U.S. summer peak travel season approaching, Trump’s comments are expected to put American consumers on track for a situation where gas prices hit record highs.

U.S. Gasoline Prices Set to Climb Rapidly

According to Patrick De Haan (Patrick De Haan), chief oil analyst at the U.S. gasoline price tracking firm GasBuddy, Trump’s remarks caused U.S. crude oil prices to jump by more than 10% on Thursday.

Since Monday, the average retail gasoline price in the U.S. has already surpassed $4 per gallon for the first time in four years, and is expected to rise to between $4.25 and $4.45 per gallon next week. Under the impact of Trump’s remarks, the rise in U.S. gasoline prices is expected to accelerate further.

As of Thursday (U.S. Eastern Time), the U.S. retail gasoline average stands at $4.08 per gallon (Data source: American Automobile Association).

De Haan noted that if the Trump administration cannot come up with a feasible plan to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, the average retail price of U.S. gasoline could likely surpass $5 per gallon within a month, setting a new high.

Tom Kloza ( Tom Kloza), chief energy adviser at Gulf Oil, said on social media that, driven by the impact of Trump’s speech, the U.S. gasoline wholesale market began to rise as of Thursday.

On the morning of Thursday (U.S. Eastern Time), gasoline prices in the markets of the Great Lakes region, the Great Plains, the Northeast, and the West Coast had already increased by 17 cents per gallon, while gasoline prices in Gulf Coast markets rose by 19 cents per gallon.

Diesel Prices May Also Hit a New Record

At the same time, De Haan said U.S. diesel prices are likely to reach a historic high within the next two weeks.

It is worth noting that while the rise in diesel prices is not directly felt as clearly by consumers, it actually has a bigger impact on the U.S. economy, because it is directly related to the costs of producing and transporting goods.

De Haan said that the nationwide average retail diesel price is expected to rise from $5.47 per gallon this Thursday to between $5.80 and $6 per gallon over the next two weeks. Previously, the record for the U.S. average retail diesel price was $5.83 per gallon in 2022.

Last week, a poll conducted jointly by U.S. TV network CBS and YouGov. showed that, against the backdrop of the U.S.-Iran conflict, most Americans expect oil and gasoline prices to rise both in the near term and long term.

The poll results showed that 90% of respondents believe that the Iran war will cause U.S. oil and gasoline prices to rise in the short term. At the same time, more than 60% of respondents believe that the war will weaken the U.S. economy in the short term.