US diesel price hits new high

Business Recorder reported that diesel prices in the United States reached a new record on Friday, with the AAA motorists' association putting the cost at USD5.85 a gallon. That is up from USD3.71 a year earlier. The rise comes as disruption linked to the US war with Iran strains household budgets ahead of the November midterm elections.

Farmers and truckers feel the squeeze most directly, since diesel powers equipment and the vehicles that bring food to shops. North Carolina farmer Derrick Austin estimated that higher fuel costs could add about USD15,000 to his autumn soybean and corn harvest. Regular gasoline now averages USD4.15 a gallon, up from USD3.20 a year earlier, and OCBC analyst Afdhal Rahman said refined fuels have risen faster than crude oil, which has stayed around USD90.

Vice President JD Vance blamed Iran when questioned about Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent's earlier comment that gasoline might drop back to USD3 around Labor Day on September 7. Vance said such forecasts were inherently unpredictable. Pump prices have climbed since US-Israeli strikes on Iran began in late February, prompting Tehran to block the Strait of Hormuz, a key energy route, while global oil prices rose this week after fresh fighting escalated.