Diesel prices remain persistently high and reserves are dwindling as winter approaches, putting additional pressure on an already strained U.S. fuel market.
The ongoing Iran war has driven up fuel prices across the board for Americans, adding to frustration over the cost of living as voters prepare to head to the polls in November’s midterms.
Seeking to ease the pain at the pump, the Trump administration has announced several measures aimed at lowering costs and boosting supplies. Those include relief from federal highway excise tax penalties for drivers using dyed diesel.
But costs remain extremely high. The national average price for diesel stood at $6.31 a gallon Monday, compared with $3.63 a year earlier, according to AAA. In California, the current average is $8.49, while in New York it stands at $6.50.
California, Colorado, Nevada, Montana and Illinois have seen the largest diesel price increases since the war began in February, according to Urban Institute economist Jon Schwabish.
Diesel is essential to the U.S. economy, powering the majority of commercial trucks, farm machinery and construction equipment that keeps it churning.
High prices are not the only concern: falling fuel stockpiles are also raising the risk of a shortage during the colder months.
U.S. inventories of distillate fuels, which include heating oil and diesel, were down 12 percent year-over-year in the second week of October, The Wall Street Journal reported. The decline was even steeper on the East Coast, where inventories were down more than 20 percent.
Stockpiles are expected to tighten further as heating demand rises ahead of winter and as refinery maintenance limits production.
Seeking to lower fuel prices, President Donald Trump signed an executive order last week suspending a new sanctions package targeting Russia’s economy. The move followed his announcement that the U.S. had agreed to purchase Russian diesel to help bring down prices worldwide.
“I know diesel prices are high in the United States, but they’re really, really high in a bunch of other countries around the world,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Monday, when asked about the sanctions relief.
Congressional Republicans have also proposed several measures to ease pain at the pump, but infighting has hampered their efforts.
Fuel prices are expected to factor into the midterm elections, which are just two weeks away. Polls indicate that Republicans could suffer steep losses, potentially stripping them of their majorities in the House and the Senate.
In an April Quinnipiac poll, more than half of respondents said they blamed Trump “a lot” for the spike in fuel prices. In an October Politico survey, most respondents said they would not be more inclined to vote Republican even if gas prices fell sharply.
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