- The U.S. average gasoline price (all grades) rose from $2.925 to $4.471 per gallon between the first week of January and the first week of August 2026, a 53% increase, the second-largest January-to-August rise since 1994 (after 2009).
- Prices did not rise in a straight line: they reached a peak of $4.628 on May 11 (up 58% from January), fell 15% to $3.911 by Jul 6, then rose again into August.
- The EIA's July 2026 Short-Term Energy Outlook ties the oil price rise to a conflict that began on February 28 and effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz until a June 18 agreement.
- Gasoline inventories fell 13.4% and crude oil inventories including the Strategic Petroleum Reserve fell 14.5% (only 2.9% excluding the reserve), while gasoline demand rose 10.5%.
- The Rocky Mountain region rose 55.5% between late February and early August, while the West Coast rose 24.8%.
These are national averages; your actual fuel cost depends on your specific vehicle and location.
Calculate Your Exact Cost01 The 2026 Price Spike: What Happened
The national average retail price of gasoline (all grades, all formulations) opened 2026 at $2.925 per gallon in the first week of January. By the first week of August it stood at $4.471, an increase of 52.9% in seven months.
U.S. Energy Information Administration, Weekly U.S. All Grades All Formulations Retail Gasoline Prices, week of Jan. 5, 2026 and week of Aug. 12, 2026The rise was not steady. Prices held near $3.00 through February, then rose sharply in March ($3.148 in the first March week, $3.633 a week later), reaching a peak of $4.628 on May 11, 58% above the January level. Prices then retreated through June, falling 15.5% to a local low of $3.911 on Jul 6, before climbing again through July and into early August.
U.S. Energy Information Administration, Weekly U.S. All Grades All Formulations Retail Gasoline Prices, weekly series, January–August 202602 How Unusual Is This?
A gasoline price increase from January to August is not itself unusual: since 1994 the median January-to-August change has been +13.9%. But 2026's 44.0% increase is far outside that typical range. It is the second-largest January-to-August rise in the 33 years since 1994, behind only 2009's 50.3%, a rebound from the 2008 financial-crisis price collapse.
Calculated from U.S. Energy Information Administration, Weekly U.S. All Grades All Formulations Retail Gasoline Prices, 1994–2026. Comparison uses the first weekly price in January and in August of each year.| Rank | Year | Jan-to-Aug Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2009 | +50.3% |
| 2 | 2026 | +44.0% |
| 3 | 2021 | +39.4% |
| 4 | 2006 | +35.2% |
| 5 | 2005 | +28.0% |
| 6 | 2022 | +27.3% |
| 7 | 1999 | +26.3% |
| 8 | 2002 | +24.7% |
| 9 | 2008 | +24.6% |
| 10 | 2004 | +24.4% |
03 What Drove It
The EIA's July 2026 Short-Term Energy Outlook describes the cause on the oil side. It says the Strait of Hormuz, a major world oil transit chokepoint, had been effectively closed since February 28, when a conflict began, and that the closure significantly disrupted global oil flows and caused oil price volatility. The retail gasoline price began its steep rise in the first week of March. The EIA reports that on June 18 the United States and Iran signed a memorandum of understanding to end the conflict and open the strait; Brent crude averaged $85 per barrel in June, $22 lower than in May and $32 below its April peak.
U.S. Energy Information Administration, Short-Term Energy Outlook, July 2026 (Overview and Global Oil Markets, pp. 2–4). Retail gasoline: EIA weekly all-grades series above.The weekly EIA stock and demand data show what happened in the U.S. over the same period. Gasoline inventories fell from 242.0 million barrels in the first week of January to 209.7 million by the end of July, a decline of 13.4%. Crude oil inventories, including the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, fell from 832.5 million to 711.8 million barrels (14.5%); excluding the reserve they fell only 2.9% (419.1 to 407.0 million barrels). The EIA also notes the release of strategic stocks from reserves in the United States and some other countries as one of the factors that helped moderate oil prices. Gasoline product supplied, the EIA's proxy for consumption, rose from 8.17 million barrels per day to 9.03 million (10.5%).
U.S. Energy Information Administration, Weekly U.S. Ending Stocks of Total Gasoline; Weekly U.S. Ending Stocks of Crude Oil (including SPR) and of Crude Oil excluding SPR; Weekly U.S. Product Supplied of Finished Motor Gasoline. Week of Jan. 2 to week of Jul. 31, 2026.Inventories did not fall in a straight line. Gasoline stocks rose through January and early February (peaking at 107% of the January level in the week of Feb 6) before a sustained decline from March. Crude stocks including the reserve peaked in the week of Apr 3 at 105.5% of the January level and then fell through the summer.
U.S. Energy Information Administration, weekly stock series, January–July 2026Want to see exactly how gas prices affect your own annual cost?
Use the Calculator04 Regional Impact
The national regular-grade price rose 38.9% between the weeks of February 23 and August 3 (the basis used for this site's regional and state comparisons, which differs from the January start date and the all-grades series above). The increase was not evenly distributed. The Rocky Mountain region saw the largest percentage increase and the West Coast the smallest, although the West Coast remains the most expensive region in absolute terms.
Calculated from U.S. Energy Information Administration, Weekly Retail Gasoline Prices by PADD district (regular, all formulations), week of Feb. 23, 2026 vs. week of Aug. 3, 2026| Region | Feb 2026 | Aug 2026 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rocky Mountain (PADD 4) | $2.662 | $4.139 | +55.5% |
| Midwest (PADD 2) | $2.675 | $3.929 | +46.9% |
| Gulf Coast (PADD 3) | $2.532 | $3.604 | +42.3% |
| East Coast (PADD 1) | $2.834 | $3.944 | +39.2% |
| U.S. National Average | $2.937 | $4.079 | +38.9% |
| West Coast (PADD 5) | $4.111 | $5.130 | +24.8% |
05 What Happens Next
This article looks back at what already happened, using EIA price and inventory data through early August 2026. For a forward-looking view based on the EIA's own short-term forecast, see U.S. Gasoline Price Forecast, 2026-2027. For the effect on diesel, see why diesel prices spiked in 2026.
Cross-reference to the EIA Short-Term Energy Outlook, as covered in gas-price-forecast-2026-202706 Data Sources
- U.S. Energy Information Administration: Weekly Retail Gasoline and Diesel Prices (all grades and regular, all formulations, by PADD district), 1994–2026. eia.gov
- U.S. Energy Information Administration: Weekly U.S. Ending Stocks of Crude Oil and Petroleum Products. eia.gov
- U.S. Energy Information Administration: Weekly U.S. Product Supplied of Petroleum Products. eia.gov
- U.S. Energy Information Administration: Short-Term Energy Outlook, July 2026. eia.gov/outlooks/steo