Petrol prices since Donald Trump took office will hit a record high just a day before Americans vote in the midterm elections, a new analysis has found.
Fuel costs have skyrocketed since President Trump joined forces with Israel to attack Iran in February, leading to a collapse in the US president’s approval ratings in the weeks leading up to the vote.
Negotiations over the transit of oil through the Strait of Hormuz, which was effectively shut by Iran after the war began, remain deadlocked. Around a fifth of the world’s oil and gas supply passed through the waterway each day before the conflict began.
According to federal data analysed by the Financial Times, the average price of a gallon of petrol will top $3.46 on 2 November, surpassing the previous record set during the Joe Biden administration.
Trump had promised low gas prices during his last presidential campaign, insisting costs would come down to $2 a gallon.
But since then the American president has appeared increasingly bogged down by an unpopular war. At a rally in Iowa on Sunday, Trump said that a rise in energy costs was “a small price to pay” for security in the Middle East.
The rise in the cost of diesel has been particularly stark, with prices surging by 70 per cent and standing at a cost of $6.30 per gallon, reaching a record high of $6.53 in September.
According to data released last week, the national average for a gallon of regular gasoline was $4.29, up from $2.98 before the war.
Meanwhile, diesel surpassed $6 in September, setting a new record, and now sits at an average of $6.35 a gallon, up from $3.76 in February.
But despite the numbers, Trump continues to insist that the price of fuel will drop rapidly - without explaining how.
“Between our total control of the Strait of Hormuz, and this great announcement on Russian Energy, Diesel Prices for Americans and, indeed, the World, will be coming down, in record numbers, and fast!” he wrote last month.
“Lower prices for Americans, especially our Great Farmers, Ranchers, and Truckers, is my Greatest Priority.”
Later in the month he announced the controversial decision to lift sanctions on Russia and allow the country to export diesel to increase global oil supply.
He also announced a harvest fuel relief programme on 19 October, which he claimed would provided $8bn in support for farmers.
“When Republicans win, we will pass even more funding for our farmers,” he told supporters at a Kansas campaign rally, where he also asked the crowd to “pretend please that I’m on the ballot.”
The Strait of Hormuz has remained largely closed throughout the conflict, which has now reached a stalemate.
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