The war in Iran has caused a spike in gas prices that is hitting California consumers especially hard, according to data from the American Automobile Association (AAA).
AAA reports that in California, the most expensive US market for gas, the average price per gallon on Monday was $5.20, compared with $3.47 nationally. The national average climbed nearly $0.50 since the conflict began more than a week ago, while in the Golden state it rose by $0.55.
Since the US and Israel launched attacks on Iran on 28 February, leading to intensifying violence across the Middle East, the price of oil surged to more than $100 a barrel for the first time in nearly four years. The conflict has damaged oil and gas facilities and stranded ships carrying roughly 20m barrels of oil a day in the Gulf.
About 20% of the world’s oil is shipped through the strait of Hormuz every day but the channel has essentially been closed for the last week.
Fuel prices hit hard of you’re a Norwegian living outside of the cities (which is the majority of Norwegians). You really need to have a car in the countryside, as both buses and trains are few and far between. There’s still plenty of fossil-fueled vehicles out here. People keep them because they either can’t afford to make the jump over to electric, don’t trust the EV’s to handle winter well enough, or because they’re worried about the technological hurdle (Norway is an aging population).
True. Almost all new vehicles are EVs, but 70% of the existing vehicles on the road are ICE. Super impressive, but that tank of fuel is extra painful if you’re in the countryside.