Just a month ago, I filled up my car with about a half-tank of gas. It was at BJ’s gas station near Quinnipiac and paid about $30 without giving it much thought. Last week, the same amount of gas cost me over $50. My driving habits stayed the same, but the
price at the pump didn’t.
By late March, the national average for a gallon of gas hit $3.98, a dollar more than it was just a month before. In Connecticut,
drivers are now paying $3.93 per gallon on average, up $1.02 in a month. Gas prices have gone up for 10 weeks in a row, the longest stretch since early 2022.
It all started on Feb. 28, when the U. S. and Israel carried out airstrikes on several sites in Iran. Things escalated quickly after that. Iran responded by closing the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow waterway between Iran and Oman that handles about 20% of the world’s seaborne crude oil and 27% of global maritime petroleum trade.
On March 1, crude oil was about $71 per barrel. Just eight days later, it shot up to over $118. The U.S. Energy Information Administration said this closure was the largest supply disruption since the 1970s energy crisis. That’s exactly what we’re seeing at the gas pump.
I drive a 2010 Honda Accord, known for being good on gas. Its four-cylinder engine gets about 21 miles per gallon in the city and 31 on the highway, and the 18.5-gallon tank used to make my weekly commute from Plantsville to Quinnipiac feel affordable.
When gas was under $3 a gallon, filling up was routine and didn’t mess with my budget. Now that it’s close to $4, the same tank takes money I’d rather use for food or other things college students really need.
Mohammad Elahee, a professor of international business at Quinnipiac told WFSB in early March that the concern centered on potential disruptions to oil shipments through the Persian Gulf.
In just one month, gas prices in Long Island and lower Connecticut jumped from an average of $2.90 to $3.90. Diesel prices went up even more, rising by $1.80 in both areas. Spring break travel and higher seasonal demand have only made things worse, as more people need gas while supplies remain limited.
On March 10, Governor Ned Lamont suggested a temporary gas tax holiday that would have paused the state’s 25-cent-per-gallon fuel tax. The plan stalled in the legislature, as lawmakers from both parties had concerns about the timing and its overall effect.
Connecticut’s fuel tax brings in about $500 million each year for the Special Transportation Fund, which made the proposal a hard sell regardless of where anyone stood politically.
The federal government hasn’t done much either. The Department of Energy released 172 million barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve after crude oil prices rose above $115, temporarily bringing down prices. Now, crude oil is about $90 per barrel, which is lower than the peak but still 39% higher than February’s average.
Iran’s grip on the strait has not loosened. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has attacked more than 21 merchant ships, and a senior official said no oil will leave the region through that waterway.
President Donald Trump gave Iran more time to reopen the Strait after his first ultimatums were ignored. The U.S. also offered a 15-point ceasefire plan, but there’s been no real response, and the strait has stayed closed for almost four weeks.
The EIA predicts that gas could average $3.34 per gallon for all of 2026. Even if shipping through the strait resumes in April, prices probably won’t drop below $3 until at least the end of 2027.
As a college student who commutes every day, these predictions really matter to me. I’m now thinking more than ever about gas prices, including when and where I fill up, depending on how many trips I have each week.
Most people know that gas prices go up and down, but a war in the Middle East closed one of the world’s key shipping lanes, and now everyone in the country is paying the price at the pump.
It doesn’t matter what kind of car you have or how carefully you drive. When oil prices almost double in a week, no amount of fuel efficiency can protect you from rising gas prices.
