The average price of gasoline in the United States surpassed $4.14 per gallon this weekend, marking a historic milestone: it is the first time that fuel has exceeded four dollars per gallon during the Labor Day weekend, the holiday that marks the end of the American summer.
The American Automobile Association (AAA) confirmed the record and warned that the indicator "had never exceeded 4 dollars per gallon" on this date. The previous high for this weekend was 3.82 dollars, recorded on September 3, 2012.
The current price represents an increase of almost one dollar compared to the $3.19 per gallon that it cost on Labor Day 2025, and it exceeds the average of the previous week by four cents.
The main cause of the price increase is the instability in the Strait of Hormuz, through which between 20% and 25% of the world's oil passes, affected by the conflict between the United States and Iran that erupted at the end of February 2026.
The spokesperson for AAA, Morgan Dean, explained the transmission mechanism clearly: “When a driver goes to the pump to fill up their tank, 50% of the price of that product is directly related to the price of crude oil. So when crude oil prices rise, we immediately see gasoline prices follow suit.”
The variation between states is significant. California tops the list at $5.83 per gallon, while Washington D.C. hovers around $4.20, Maryland is below four dollars, and Virginia and Florida are around $3.93.
Texas is the most affordable of the large states, with $3.69. In some areas of Connecticut Avenue in the capital, premium gasoline has exceeded six dollars per gallon.
The increase is not just a one-time phenomenon from this past weekend. According to previous data, the national average price returned to four dollars in July following the resumption of military attacks between Washington and Tehran, and by the end of that month it was already exceeding 4.11 dollars, an increase of twenty cents compared to June.
The year 2026 started with an average of $2.90 per gallon at the end of January.
The price surged to a peak of $4.56 in May, when Brent crude surpassed $126 per barrel during the most critical phase of the naval blockade in the strait.
A temporary truce between Washington and Tehran allowed the gallon price to drop below four dollars in June, but the breakdown of the agreement in July caused prices to rise again.
The chief analyst of GasBuddy, Patrick De Haan, had projected an average of $4.03 for this weekend, which would have already broken the previous record. The actual figure greatly exceeded that.
AAA warns that, although prices have historically dropped after Labor Day due to a decrease in summer travel, current market conditions make it impossible to predict when relief will arrive.
Analysts indicate that price stabilization may not occur until 2027.
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