PLYMOUTH MEETING, Pa. (KYW Newsradio) — The prices at the pump keep inching up as the war in Iran continues with no real end in sight. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that the war would end after the midterms.
Gas prices increased by 5 cents in the Philadelphia region in one day. Gas was $4.49 for a regular gallon as of Thursday morning, according to AAA. That is up 14 cents in a week, 37 cents in a month, and $1.22 compared to this same time last year.
A barrel of oil was above $100 again on Thursday. The cost of oil accounts for more than half of the price that consumers pay at the pump.
The U.S. struck Iranian oil tankers this week, and Iran fired back. The stalemate goes on at the Strait of Hormuz.
Trump has said on a number of occasions during the nearly seven-month war with Iran that the conflict was close to ending. Speaking to reporters before boarding Air Force One, en route to the GOP midterm convention in Dallas, the president said the end would coincide with the end of the midterm election.
“Shortly, but right after the election, because they would like to have it that way. But right after the election, oil prices are gonna be tumbling downward. They’re gonna be tumbling down and we’ll get them down — I think for gasoline, we’ll get them below $2 a gallon,” Trump said.
The last time the average price for gasoline got that low was in 2020, during the beginning of the pandemic as demand plummeted. The average was just below $3 late last year.
And it’s not just regular gas that has skyrocketed. The average price of diesel in the Philadelphia area was $6.14 a gallon, according to AAA. That is 62 cents higher in the last month and more than $2 higher than it was a year ago.
It is getting more and more expensive to transport food and other goods, and the cost is being passed on to consumers.
Trump says war would end after the midterms
Trump says war would end after the midterms
