U.S. pump prices top $4.50

Gasoline prices are back in the part of the chart people actually feel. On May 7, AAA put the U.S. average for regular at $4.558 a gallon, and several western states were already far above that. The jump has been fast, not gradual. That matters because gas is one of the few prices households see in giant numbers every week — and because a fuel spike doesn’t stay at the pump for long. (gasprices.aaa.com) ### Did U.S. pump prices really top $4.50? Yes — nationally, depending on which benchmark you use. AAA’s daily tracker showed regular gasoline at $4.558 on Thursday, May 7. The EIA’s weekly survey, which lags a bit but is the government series markets watch, showed all grades at $4.581 for the week of May 4 and regular at $4.452. So the cleanes(gasprices.aaa.com)ly above that in a lot of places. (gasprices.aaa.com) ### Where is it worst? The West Coast is carrying the ugliest numbers. AAA showed California at $6.165, Washington at $5.763, Hawaii at $5.662, Oregon at $5.346, and Nevada at $5.239 on May 7. EIA’s city data for May 4 told the same story — San Francisco at $6.092, Los Angeles at $5.943, and Seattle at $5.674. This isn’t just a national average(gasprices.aaa.com) now. (gasprices.aaa.com) ### Why did prices jump so fast? Crude oil did most of the work. AAA said the national average rose 27 cents in one week as oil pushed above $100 a barrel. EIA’s April outlook had already warned that restricted flows through the Strait of Hormuz were forcing major Gulf producers to shut in supply, with Brent averaging $103 in March and expected(gasprices.aaa.com)l plus refining, transport, and taxes — so when crude jumps this hard, pump prices usually follow. (gasprices.aaa.com) ### Why does Hormuz matter so much? Because it is one of the world’s main oil chokepoints. EIA said limited flows through the strait led to millions of barrels per day of production shut-ins across Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the UAE, Qatar, and Bahrain. That hits global supply, raises shipping risk, and pushes Brent up faster than U.S. crude. Even if American dri(gasprices.aaa.com)ng for that bottleneck anyway. (eia.gov) ### Is this just a West Coast story? No — the Midwest and East Coast are getting hit too. EIA showed the Midwest regular average at $4.399 on May 4, up 52 cents in a week, and the East Coast at $4.251, up 29 cents. Ohio was especially brutal at $4.776, up 91 cents in a week. Florida hit $4.288. New York hit $4.399. So the shock started with crude, but regional refining a(eia.gov)fferent ways. (eia.gov) ### Why do markets care beyond drivers? Because fuel is an inflation pipeline. Higher gasoline and diesel costs raise freight bills, airline costs, delivery costs, and service-sector expenses. Diesel is even more alarming here — EIA had U.S. on-highway diesel at $5.640 on May 4. That means the pressure is not just “commuter pain.” It can bleed into food, retail, logistics, and inflation readings the Fed watches. (eia.gov) ### Didn’t forecasters expect lower prices by now? Basically, yes. EIA’s April outlook expected retail gasoline to peak near a monthly average of $4.30 in April, assuming the Middle East disruption eased. Instead, AAA’s daily number is already above $4.55 in early May. That doesn’t prove the whole year will stay this bad, but it does show reality has outrun the base-case forecast. (eia.gov) ### So what’s the bottom line? The story is simple — gas is expensive again because oil got expensive again, fast. The harder part is what comes next. If Hormuz disruption fades, prices can cool. But right now the U.S. is already living with a real fuel shock, and that makes inflation, consumer spending, and corporate margins harder to read than they looked a month ago. (eia.gov)