Israel-Iran missile attacks pushing gas prices up: More to come?

The attacks on Iran’s nuclear capabilities launched by Israel last week, and the expected Iranian response, have pushed oil prices up, and gas prices with them.

Gas prices in Virginia shot up 14.3 cents per gallon in the last week, averaging $3.02 per gallon statewide, according to data from the price-tracking website GasBuddy.

Motorists in our local area are paying an average of $2.87 per gallon in Rockingham County, $2.98 per gallon in Waynesboro, $3.03 per gallon in Charlottesville, Harrisonburg and Staunton, $3.06 per gallon in Augusta County, and $3.08 per gallon in Albemarle County.

The national average price of diesel has increased 4.0 cents in the last week and stands at $3.49 per gallon.

“With Israel and Iran trading attacks, oil prices have surged to multi-month highs – setting the stage for additional price hikes at gas pumps across the country,” said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy.

“As long as tensions in the Middle East continue to escalate, the risk of further impacts on oil prices remains high. For now, I expect gas prices could rise by 10 to 20 cents, while diesel could climb 15 to 25 cents in the coming days,” De Haan said. “Motorists should prepare for what will likely be modest price increases, for now, but the situation has the potential to worsen at any moment.”