California gas prices are surging past $6 a gallon as the Iran war grinds on

The state's average hit $6.01 per gallon Thursday — the highest since October 2023 and a 30% jump since the war began

PATRICK T. FALLON / Getty Images

AAA data show California's statewide average for regular gasoline climbed to $6.01 per gallon on Thursday, a threshold not seen in the state since October 2023. The figure represents a 30% increase since the U.S. and Israel launched the war against Iran on Feb. 28.

No other state has ever surpassed the $6-a-gallon mark, according to Bloomberg. California prices remain below the all-time peak of $6.438 reached in June 2022.

Diesel has outpaced gasoline's rise. At roughly $7.50 a gallon on Thursday, California's diesel fuel costs have surged 47% since the Feb. 28 start of the conflict, according to CNBC. Local diesel has already set a record above $7 a gallon, according to Bloomberg.

Across the country, motorists paid $4.30 per gallon on Thursday, according to AAA, reflecting a 27-cent weekly jump tied to the broader oil price spike. That is $1.12 higher than the same period last year and the highest level in four years. West Texas Intermediate crude rallied toward $111 a barrel Thursday, while Brent, the global benchmark, topped $126.

A brief lull in mid-April offered some relief at the pump as oil markets priced in the chance of a negotiated ceasefire. That reprieve ended once it became apparent Tehran had no intention of restoring commercial transit through the Strait of Hormuz — a chokepoint that handles roughly a quarter of the world's seaborne crude — sending costs higher again, according to CNBC.

The state's fuel supply chain is structurally more vulnerable than most of the country's. Unlike other major markets, California receives no pipeline deliveries from Gulf Coast refiners, and the permanent closure of two in-state refineries since October 2025 has stripped away roughly a fifth of local production capacity, according to Bloomberg.

The run-up in fuel costs since the conflict began has emerged as a significant political liability. The political fallout extends to both parties: the White House faces mounting pressure heading into midterm season, while Newsom — seen by many as a likely 2028 presidential contender — confronts a restive electorate in his home state, according to Bloomberg. In a Reuters/Ipsos survey published last week, about three in four Americans said the president bears some responsibility for the increase in fuel costs.

Trump has repeatedly forecast that reopening the Strait of Hormuz would bring fuel costs down. Energy Secretary Chris Wright echoed a measure of optimism last week, telling reporters he believed the worst of the gasoline price surge had passed around mid-April, according to Bloomberg.

The closure of the strait has been the central driver of the oil price surge since the war began. Iran virtually shut down commercial traffic through the waterway for much of the conflict. Each of two Iranian decisions to reopen it has since been reversed, keeping tankers unable to pass through.

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