Trump’s war hits summer car culture with high fuel prices, road-repair delays

(Originally published Apr. 29 in “What in the World“) Analysts say oil prices are likely headed even higher.

As Americans prepare to fill their cars with gasoline for summer holidays, Asia and Europe are running short of oil thanks to the blockade on supplies out of the Strait of Hormuz. On Tuesday, Brent crude rose 4.1% to $112.71 a barrel, while U.S. gas prices rose to $4.18 a gallon ($1.10 per liter), their highest in four years.

With Trump saying he’s unhappy that Iran’s latest proposal to reopen the Strait attempts to pull its nuclear ambitions off the negotiating table, the White House is adding new sanctions on the Chinese refineries that buy what little Iranian oil can now get to them.

Prices for natural gas are also soaring, hitting utilities across East Asia and Europe that rely on the fuel. When Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, Europe replaced its Russian pipeline gas with U.S. liquefied natural gas. But the U.S. doesn’t have enough spare capacity to replace the LNG bottled up in the Gulf. As a result, prices for gas in Asia and Europe have climbed to six times the price of gas in the U.S., up from four times higher before the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran began Feb. 28. Before the war, three LNG tankers a day passed through the Strait. Since the war, only one LNG tanker has managed to steam out of the strait, the Abu Dhabi’s Mubaraz, now headed for Asia.

On top of fuel prices, motorists may also need to start worrying about the roads they drive on. While the Strait’s closure is affecting a range of other petroleum byproducts, from natural gas to fertilizer, it’s also crimping supplies of bitumen. Bitumen, a gooey petroleum tar, is mixed with gravel and sand to make asphalt, so the shortage is throwing a wrench into global road construction and repairs.