Escalating Middle East tensions increase gas prices in Idaho

Gas prices are up by 18 cents from last week across Idaho according to AAA, as the crude oil market continues to face pressure from intensifying conflict in the Middle East.

Crude oil is now trading at nearly $88 a barrel after an attempt by Houthi rebels to block oil shipments from Saudi Arabia through the Bab al-Mandab Strait has disrupted the global market.

Oil tankers were already struggling to navigate a volatile situation in the Strait of Hormuz, but the added pressure could cause oil prices to fluctuate as the market reacts to an evolving conflict.

The Mediterranean Sea remains an alternative route for Saudi Arabian oil shipments, although the route could delay tankers by triple their normal times, according to the AAA.

The result is Idahoans paying an average of $4.23 per gallon of gas — a 75 cent increase on prices a year ago and 13 cents more than the national average at $4.10. National gas prices are up more than 90 cents from a year ago, the AAA said in a Friday press release.

Idaho now has the 12th most expensive gas prices in the country.

Idaho’s gas remains more expensive than border states Utah and Wyoming but trails Montana, Oregon, Nevada and Washington. Washington’s gas is the third most expensive in the nation, averaging $5.09 per gallon.

The market remains unpredictable as global conflict influences affordability at home.

“The memorandum of understanding between the United States and Iran that briefly calmed the crude oil market is no longer in effect, which adds more uncertainty to the equation,” said AAA Idaho public affairs director Matthew Conde. “In the short term, we could see more expensive crude and a period of higher prices at the pump.”

Idaho’s price increase is not felt evenly across the state. Consumers in Boise are paying $4.22 on average — 7 cents more than the price per gallon in eastern Idaho’s Franklin, which sits at $4.15.