Topic
U.S. retail fuel price levels and year-over-year increases, including diesel's outsized rise and its effect on trucking and farming.
Diesel at $6.53 a gallon is a political problem for Trump. The remedy under discussion would hold a record 1.6 million barrels a day at home, in a market where the world price still sets the US price.
Perspective Coverage
5 publishersReality
Cox Automotive now expects its Manheim used-vehicle price index to end 2026 up about 0.2%, down from the 2% gain it projected in July. Losses came in large trucks and SUVs while EVs and small cars gained value, a split that points to fuel costs.
Reality
GM, which sells one hybrid model, gave no date for more as hybrids rose to 19% of US vehicle sales in August from 16% before the war, according to JD Power. Record hybrid quarters went to Japanese and Korean rivals, while GM's last stated target for new hybrids is 2027.
Reality
WTI has not fallen five days in a row since February. What set the run off was a three-hour meeting in New York plus Iran's conditional offer to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Pump prices are still at record highs.
Reality
US diesel averaged $6.52 a gallon on Sept. 23, an all-time high, and analysts told Fortune that keeping the fuel home would lower prices only near the Gulf Coast before refiners trim runs on every fuel they make.
Reality