US Gas Prices Just Set A Record For Most Days Above $4/Gal

If the days of affordable gas seem like a distant memory, you're not imagining it. The average cost of a gallon of regular has now topped $4 for 158 consecutive days, breaking a record set back in 2022 under the Biden administration. AAA says that gas prices currently average $4.33 per gallon, which represents a 46% rise over the $2.98 Americans paid in late February, prior to the U.S. attacking Iran.

President Trump has consistently claimed that gas prices would soon fall below $2 per gallon, but instead they've climbed higher. Trump does at least have one stat he can use in an attempt to placate angry voters as the midterms approach. Gas has never been above $4 for more days than it has this year, but the peak cost is still much lower than the all-time high of $5.01 experienced in June 2022 before Trump took office. It has also fallen fractionally from a $4.37 average last week. To put these higher fuel prices into perspective, Newsweek reports that it will cost each U.S. household more than $560, according to research from Brown University's Watson School of International and Public Affairs.

The pain drivers of gasoline cars are feeling right now is real enough. Last month we calculated that someone driving a Mazda3 could have afforded to run a V8 Mustang on the same gas budget back in February. But that pain is nothing compared with the misery diesel drivers are suffering. Diesel has jumped around 72% since October 2025 to a $6.30 national average, according to AAA. In California it's a terrifying $8.41. And that's not just making it more expensive for antisocial truck drivers to roll coal in cyclists' faces. Higher diesel prices can also impact the prices of other goods, as semi drivers, farmers and businesses have to consider raising their prices to cover higher operating costs.

President Trump initially wanted to expand the use of red-dyed diesel to lower costs, and last week, he announced a controversial deal with Russia to unlock 4.8 million metric tons, or around 36 million barrels, of diesel, in an attempt to bring prices down. But the volumes in question are virtually worthless, amounting to just 10 days of US domestic demand, CNBC reports. European drivers are used to paying more for fuel than their American counterparts, but prices have risen there, too. A liter of unleaded is now £1.75 in the UK (equates to $8.79 for a U.S. gallon), compared with £1.31 ($6.58) in February.