{"id":1354,"date":"2026-10-14T20:55:14","date_gmt":"2026-10-14T20:55:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.kcfj570am.com\/?p=1354"},"modified":"2026-10-14T20:55:14","modified_gmt":"2026-10-14T20:55:14","slug":"gas-prices-set-record-for-highest-number-of-days-above-4-a-gallon-in-a-calendar-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kcfj570am.com\/?p=1354","title":{"rendered":"Gas prices set record for highest number of days above $4 a gallon in a calendar year"},"content":{"rendered":"
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A customer purchases gas at a station on Sept. 15, 2026, in Chicago, Illinois. (Scott Olson\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The national average gas price has topped $4 a gallon for a total of 158 days in 2026, setting a record for the largest number of days ever recorded above $4 in a calendar year, GasBuddy petroleum analyst Patrick De Haan said in a post on X on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

The Iran war caused gasoline prices to surge after fighting in the Strait of Hormuz prompted a historic oil supply shock.<\/p>\n

An oil shortage continues to bedevil crude sellers, who typically pass along higher costs to retailers and, in turn, drivers at the pump. Global oil prices register above $106 a barrel, marking a 50% jump from their pre-war level.<\/p>\n

The record-setting gasoline price woes arrive as affordability stands as a top concern for voters ahead of early November’s midterm elections.<\/p>\n

An inflation report issued by the federal government on Wednesday showed gas prices jumped more than 9% in September from August, accounting for more than half of the overall price increase last month. Overall inflation clocked in at a 4-month high in September, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics said.<\/p>\n

The national average gas price stands at $4.33, AAA said. Prior to the war, the average price stood below $3 a gallon.<\/p>\n

The Middle East conflict drove up fuel prices and catapulted inflation to a three-year high in May, but inflation eased slightly over the summer after a preliminary peace agreement established an on-again, off-again pause in fighting.<\/p>\n

The tentative accord between the U.S. and Iran expired in August, however, giving way to continued attacks on oil infrastructure and ships in the region.<\/p>\n

Oil exports from the Gulf have improved in recent weeks, but heightened shipping costs and persistent risks have kept gas prices highly elevated.<\/p>\n

Diesel prices, which feed into supply costs for groceries and just about every other product bought in stores, stand at $6.29 a gallon, according to AAA. That figure amounts to an increase of about 66% since the outbreak of the Iran war in February.<\/p>\n

In September, consumer sentiment dropped close to the lowest level ever recorded in the 74-year history of the University of Michigan’s monthly survey.<\/p>\n

Copyright \u00a9 2026, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A customer purchases gas at a station on Sept. 15, 2026, in Chicago, Illinois. (Scott Olson\/Getty Images) The national average gas price has topped $4 a gallon for a total of 158 days in 2026, setting a record for the largest number of days ever recorded above $4 in a calendar year, GasBuddy petroleum analyst […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1354","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kcfj570am.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1354","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kcfj570am.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kcfj570am.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kcfj570am.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kcfj570am.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1354"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.kcfj570am.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1354\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kcfj570am.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1354"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kcfj570am.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1354"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kcfj570am.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1354"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}