From Boston to Denver, US drivers cut back as Iran war pushes fuel costs higher

By Shariq Khan, Georgina McCartney and Tim McLaughlin

NEW YORK, April 11 (Reuters) - Boston resident Pat Ouedraogo has cut longer-distance trips, while aspiring law student Skyler Burke drives extra miles to avoid pricier gasoline pumps closer to home. In Houston, auto broker David Wright has switched from a gas-guzzling race car to an all-electric vehicle.

These struggles are being echoed ‌by motorists across the United States, many of whom have grown increasingly wary of the Iran war https://www.reuters.com/world/iran/ as it drives fuel prices toward record highs. Energy market experts have described ‌the six-week-old war as the worst oil-supply disruption ever https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/oil-whiplash-iran-war-shock-flip-market-deficit-2026-analysts-say-2026-04-10/ as major production facilities have been hit and a key shipping passage has effectively closed https://www.reuters.com/graphics/IRAN-CRISIS/MAPS/klvylmooypg/.

"It's a situation where you feel powerless about these prices," Ouedraogo said, while pumping a few gallons of ​gasoline into his Nissan SUV at a Shell station that was charging $4.99 a gallon.

Average U.S. gasoline prices stood at $4.16 a gallon on Friday, while diesel averaged $5.67, the most that consumers have paid at the pumps ahead of the peak summer travel season since Russia's February 2022 invasion of Ukraine https://www.reuters.com/world/ukraine-russia-war/ roiled global energy markets, data from GasBuddy showed.

Those prices translate into an estimated $10.4 billion increase in U.S. gasoline and diesel spending this year compared with the same March 1-April 10 period last year, since the war began, GasBuddy's Patrick De Haan said.

For Houston-based trucker Eddie Esquivel, the surge in diesel prices has translated into a near-doubling of his weekly expenditures to $1,600-$1,700 from $800-$900 ‌before the war.

"These prices are hitting real hard. Diesel was $2-something a gallon. ⁠Now, it could hit $6," Esquivel said at a QuikTrip filling station in South Houston, Texas.

"You got truck payments, you got to buy tires, you got to do oil changes, and you got a family," Esquivel said. "This is killing us."

POLITICAL FALLOUT FROM PUMP PRICES

To be sure, consumers are paying dearly for fuel across the world https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/iran-war-leaves-crisis-scarred-countries-counting-cost-2026-04-10/, ⁠as Iran's blockade of the Strait of Hormuz has starved Asian and European markets of Middle Eastern oil supplies.

The United States is the world's largest fuel consumer, so pump prices hold a unique significance in American politics. The searing economic pain felt by motorists due to the persistence of Russia's war in Ukraine had been a major influence in their decision to elect Donald Trump https://www.reuters.com/world/us/donald-trump/ as president in November 2024.

Now, just months ahead of midterm U.S. elections ​in ​November, Americans' approval of Trump has crashed to new lows https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trumps-approval-hits-new-36-low-fuel-prices-surge-amid-iran-war-reutersipsos-2026-03-24/ as they square his campaign promises of lower energy ​costs against the sharpest increase i https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/us-consumer-prices-surge-expected-march-2026-04-10/n consumer prices https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/us-consumer-prices-surge-expected-march-2026-04-10/ in nearly four ‌years in March due to the record surge in fuel prices.

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"I definitely won't be voting for (the Republican) party or anyone affiliated with this president right now who is in office at all," Kari DyLong said while filling up her pickup truck at a service station outside of Denver.

To make matters worse, the elevated gasoline prices are expected to linger even after Trump eventually decides to end U.S. military involvement in Iran, according to the U.S. government's own admission https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/fuel-prices-could-keep-rising-months-after-hormuz-reopens-us-eia-says-2026-04-07/.

Delegations from the United States and Iran are set to hold talks in Pakistan https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/us-team-heads-iran-talks-pakistan-with-low-expectations-2026-04-10/ on Saturday aimed at reaching a permanent ceasefire deal after a fragile two-week truce https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/us-iran-ceasefire-what-we-know-2026-04-08/ announced earlier this week.

However, even if such a deal is struck, oil and fuel prices are unlikely to return to their pre-war levels in quick order, analysts said earlier this week. U.S. consumers will ‌continue to pay the highest prices in years https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/us-pump-prices-stay-elevated-despite-us-iran-ceasefire-deal-market-observers-say-2026-04-08/ to fill up their vehicles or fly over the summer, they ​said.

"We still expect a lingering geopolitical risk premium to remain in the market," said Wei Ren Gan, analyst at consultancy Rystad.

"Rather ​than a rapid recovery to pre-war levels, prices are likely to soften gradually and could remain ​relatively higher than pre-war benchmarks."

About 2 million barrels per day of Middle Eastern refining capacity has been knocked out of service due to damage in the ongoing ‌war, according to Macquarie analysts.

DEMAND DESTRUCTION

Signs of demand destruction due to the high gas ​prices have begun to show in U.S. government data. ​Gasoline demand in the country in the week before Easter stood at just 8.6 million barrels a day, down 9% from last year's Easter demand.

Other indicators show the extent of hardships consumers are facing: pawn loan transactions have surged 9% as gas prices surpassed $4 a gallon, said Tim Jugmans, financial chief at pawn loan provider EZCORP.

For Denver resident DyLong, the cratering of demand has ​come in the form of cutting back on personal excursions over the ‌weekends. She faces a 40-minute commute to get to her job as a sales manager for craft brewer Oskar Blues.

"I'm doing things way more at home and not venturing out ​because I'm having to spend a bigger portion of my paycheck now towards gas to get me to work," she said.

(Reporting by Shariq Khan and Nicole Jao in New ​York, Georgina McCartney in Houston, Tim McLaughlin in Boston and Liz Hampton in Denver; Editing by Matthew Lewis )

byMario Satorik

in

April 13, 2026

From Boston to Denver, US drivers cut back as Iran war pushes fuel costs higher

By Shariq Khan, Georgina McCartney and Tim McLaughlin NEW YORK, April 11 (Reuters) - Boston resident Pat Ouedraogo has cut longer...

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Shohei Ohtani's leadoff homer, Teoscar's 3-run shot propel streaking Dodgers to 6-3 win over Rangers

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Shohei Ohtani hit a leadoff homer and Teoscar Hernández followed with a three-run shot in the first inning of theLos Angeles Dodgers’ seventh victory in eight games, 6-3 over the Texas Rangers on Saturday night.

Rangers Dodgers Baseball

Emmet Sheehan (2-0) pitched six innings of four-hit ball with six strikeouts for the defending World Series champion Dodgers, whose 11-3 start is the best in the majors. Will Smith reached base four times and scored two runs.

Brandon Nimmo hit a leadoff homer, another two-run shot and a double for the Rangers, who have lost six of nine with theirback-to-back defeatsat Dodger Stadium. The rest of Texas' lineup managed just one hit, a sixth-inning single by Josh Jung.

Sheehan excelled against almost every Texas hitter except Nimmo, who hammered his second pitch 405 feet to dead center for the 15th leadoff homer of the longtime Mets slugger's career.

Ohtani answered moments later with a blast to right for his first homer at Chavez Ravine this season while also extendinghis on-base streak to 45 games. The four-time MVP has four home runs in eight games after starting the season in a six-game homer drought.

Five batters later, Hernández brought home Smith and Freddie Freeman with a big shot to left, his third of the season.

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Jack Leiter (1-1) yielded five runs on five hits and four walks while failing to get out of the fourth inning for Texas.

Nimmo's two-run shot in the sixth trimmed LA's lead to 5-3 and secured his first multi-homer game for his new team.

Hernández doubled and scored on Andy Pages' single in the eighth.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts didn't give the ninth inning to new closer Edwin Diaz, who blew a three-run lead in Friday's victory. Blake Treinen allowed two baserunners and got two outs before Alex Vesia struck out Danny Jansen to secure his first save.

Up next

RHP Jacob deGrom (0-0, 3.72 ERA) starts the series finale for Texas on Sunday against RHP Roki Sasaki (0-1, 7.00).

AP MLB:https://apnews.com/MLB

byMario Satorik

in

April 12, 2026

Shohei Ohtani's leadoff homer, Teoscar's 3-run shot propel streaking Dodgers to 6-3 win over Rangers

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Shohei Ohtani hit a leadoff homer and Teoscar Hernández followed with a three-run shot in the first inning of theLos...

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‘RHOBH’ Star Rachel Zoe Slammed By Ex Rodger Berman’s Girlfriend: ‘Leave Me the F*** Alone’

Rodger Berman’s girlfriend,Bree Jacoby, fired back at his ex-wife,Rachel Zoe, for shading her onThe Real Housewives of Beverly Hillsseason 15.

“Leave me the f*** alone… What’s so insane?” Bree, 36, unleashed in a series ofInstagram Storieson Friday, April 10. “You did not want to be married and said it yourself you wish you left 7 years ago. You’re acting like a jealous woman. Get a new story line. I’m not going anywhere. So get used to it.”

Bree — who is a businesswoman and a stylist — shared a clip from a recentRHOBHepisode where Rachel complained to costarDorit Kemsleyabout her ex-husband declaring his love for his new girlfriend on her birthday via Instagram. Rachel suggested Rodger was trying to deliberately irritate her because the two women’s birthdays are days apart and both are stylists.

“Since so many of my friends reached out I want to set the record [straight],” Bree explained via Instagram on Friday. “My birthday is sept 2 (1 day after her) not 3. We have been dating for almost 2 years. I’m actually a business woman who happens to style – not a celebrity stylist. But you do you girl. Respect.”

How Rachel Zoe Reacted to Ex Rodger Berman Dating Bree Jacoby: ‘They Have Both Moved On’

Bree claimed that she met Rachel and Rodger’s two children — sons Skyler, 14, and Kaius, 12 — “a year after dating” their dad. She then dismissively called Rachel “a great actor” but insisted she was “sick of her storyline.”

“I actually don’t care about anything other than the kids and my relationship. I wish her the best and to find love and happiness,” Bree wrote. “I would be a modern family. But she can’t do it. It’s very sad. But that’s her own issue. We are better than the drama. But I’m really getting tired of this portrayal of him and of me. It’s not true. Rodger is an incredible father might I add. And an incredible boyfriend. Best human.”

In a later post, Bree encouraged other people to send her messages to Rachel since theReal Housewives of Beverly Hillscast member apparently “blocked” her once she started seeing Rodger.

“The issue is that she takes zero accountability for her own behavior and is absolutely awful to me (calls me trash),” she concluded. “Bad press is good press so keep talking. But if you’re gonna talk. At least be a woman and talk to me direct. Like I said – I ain’t going anywhere. See ya at the bar mitzvah.”

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Us Weeklyhas reached out to Zoe’s representative for comment.

Rachel and Rodger were married for 26 years before theRachel Zoe Projectstar announced theirplans to divorcein September 2024.

“After 33 years together and 26 years married, Rodger and I have come to the mutual decision to end our marriage,” Rachel confirmed via Instagram at the time. “We are incredibly proud of the loving family we have created and our countless memories together.”

Rache’s statement continued, “Our number one priority has been and will always be our children. We are committed to coparent our boys and to continue to work together within the many businesses we share. We ask for privacy during this time as we navigate this new chapter.”

Rachel Zoe Says She Doesn’t ‘Need a Man’ After Divorce, But Is Open to Getting Married Again

Usreportedin July 2025 that theRHOBHnewbie officially filed for divorce from Roger, citing “irreconcilable differences” as the reason for their split. Zoe subsequently revealed onWatch What Happens With Andy Cohenin February that she was hopeful of reaching a divorce settlement “soon.”

Asked about Rodger’s reaction to her discussing their split onRHOBH, Zoe admitted, “He’s not thrilled. But I also think people are telling him, his friends or whatever, look, anything that I said is really how I felt in the moment.”

“And things were happening in real time this summer, and there’s a lot I don’t share,” she added.

The Real Housewives of Beverly Hillsseason 15 airs Thursdays on Bravo. Old episodes are available via Peacock.

byMario Satorik

in

April 12, 2026

‘RHOBH’ Star Rachel Zoe Slammed By Ex Rodger Berman’s Girlfriend: ‘Leave Me the F*** Alone’

Rodger Berman’s girlfriend,Bree Jacoby, fired back at his ex-wife,Rachel Zoe, for shading her onThe Real Housewives of Beverly Hillssea...

Read More