NEW YORK, March 18, 2026, 04:48 EDT.
Gasoline and diesel prices climbed again Wednesday in the U.S., AAA reported, putting the national average for regular at $3.842 per gallon and diesel at $5.068. Oil, meanwhile, pulled back as Iraq resumed some shipments via Turkey’s Ceyhan port. The disconnect highlights just how tight supplies of refined fuels still are—so any drop in crude may take some time to filter down to drivers.
This jump stings: gasoline prices feed straight into family budgets, and diesel fuels freight and factories. The Energy Information Administration’s Monday numbers had regular gas at $3.72 a gallon, a 21.8-cent leap from last week. On-highway diesel? $5.071, up 21.2 cents. According to GasBuddy, diesel just topped $5 nationwide for only the second time on record this week.
Crude continues to lead. Brent slid $1.51 to $101.91 a barrel by 0731 GMT on Wednesday, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate was down $2.75 at $93.46 following Iraq’s move to restart Kirkuk exports. Even so, Brent had managed to close above $100 for four straight sessions, with no letup in the Iran conflict.
The squeeze has been intensifying for weeks. GasBuddy’s real-time data tracked U.S. gasoline prices jumping roughly 84 cents a gallon since late February, landing at $3.83 by Tuesday afternoon. Over that same period, WTI surged from $67.02 to $96.16. Crude remains the dominant driver in what Americans pay at the pump, and even with U.S. motor-fuel inventories sitting at a relatively solid 28.5 days last week, the rally hasn’t let up.
Traders were left parsing a fresh set of stock numbers. U.S. crude inventories climbed 6.56 million barrels last week, according to market sources quoting the American Petroleum Institute — a sharp jump over the 380,000-barrel uptick projected in a Reuters poll. Gasoline inventories came down 4.56 million barrels. For distillates, which includes diesel and heating oil, the draw was 1.39 million barrels.
Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, wrote in a blog that fuel prices are likely to stay elevated as long as oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz remain limited. AAA, for its part, is pointing to rising travel demand this spring; warmer weather is getting more people behind the wheel.
This isn’t just a U.S. phenomenon. China slapped a ban on diesel, gasoline and jet fuel exports, running through at least the end of March. That’s taking Asian supply down another notch while Gulf refiners are already scaling back. China ranks as Asia’s number four exporter of those fuels, trailing South Korea, India, and Singapore. “The remaining Asian exporters simply do not have the spare volumes to replicate China’s role as the region’s swing supplier,” Kpler’s Zameer Yusof wrote. On March 17, Asian diesel derivatives surged to $150 a barrel, while gasoline fetched $139.80 a barrel on Monday. Reuters
Yet supply headlines keep sending the market into fresh swings. “The news provided some relief to the market,” said Anh Pham, senior analyst at LSEG, following Iraq’s restart. Still, even one missile or a stray sea mine hitting a tanker could trigger another price spike, IG market analyst Tony Sycamore cautioned. Reuters
Consumers could be nearing another key level. “The $4 (per gallon) threshold may be the one to watch,” said Kevin Roberts, director of economic and market intelligence at CarGurus. The next official U.S. weekly petroleum report lands later Wednesday.
