After average gas prices fell 13 cents per gallon in the Dayton area last week, prices are expected to jump after U.S. and Israeli air strikes hit Iran and killed Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei over the weekend.
According to reports, Iran said it restricted travel in the Strait of Hormuz, a passage in the Middle East Gulf through which a fifth of the world’s oil flows.
McClain said the strait’s closure is rare, and the ongoing volatility in the region makes it difficult to predict how high prices will go and for how long.
“It’s impossible to tell moment to moment what’s going to happen,” McClain said.
Average gas prices fell to $2.67 per gallon in the Dayton area last week according to GasBuddy’s survey of 391 stations.
Prices were 2.7 cents per gallon lower than February but were 15.8 cents higher than the same time last year.
Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis for GasBuddy, said the risk of broader instability around transit has injected uncertainty into the energy markets, adding he expects oil prices to move first followed gradually by gasoline.
On Sunday, Brent crude oil prices rose 10% to $80 a barrel. Analysts predict it could reach as high as $100 a barrel.
“In the week ahead, gasoline prices are likely to face heightened upward pressure as seasonal trends continue and markets navigate this evolving geopolitical landscape, with the national average poised to reach the $3 per gallon mark for the first time this year.”
Sunday’s average gas price in Dayton was the second lowest it’s been on that date since 2021.
Last year, the average price was $2.51 per gallon. The highest was March 2, 2022, when the average was $3.59 per gallon.
The national price of gasoline had risen for four consecutive weeks even before the weekend’s attack, according to GasBuddy.
The U.S. average was $2.94 on Monday.
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