Diesel prices in the United States crossed $6 a gallon for the first time on Friday, a milestone that reflects how two wars in distant regions are working their way into the cost of moving goods, growing food, and heating homes.
The nationwide average stood at $6.0556 per gallon, according to AAA data cited by CNBC, up about 63% from the same time a year ago. California, the country’s largest agricultural state, is seeing prices of $7.9827 per gallon — nearly $2 above the national figure.
Truckers and farmers are absorbing the increase each time they fill a rig or a tractor, and those costs tend not to stay where they start.
Why this fuel matters more than gasoline
Drivers watch the gasoline sign at the corner station, but diesel does more of the economy’s heavy lifting. It powers the trucks, trains, and ships that deliver goods, the machinery that plants and harvests crops, and in some places the generators and furnaces that keep buildings warm and lit.
Bob McNally, president of Rapidan Energy, told CNBC’s “The Exchange” this week that diesel is the fuel he worries about most. “It’s the more insidious, more costly, and more impactful fuel,” McNally said, adding that “as we climb higher, it is a real concern.”
Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, put the stakes more bluntly. On CNBC’s “Power Lunch,” he called prices at these levels a “silent killer” for the economy.
Gasoline is not offering much relief either. De Haan said pump prices have never been this high this late in the year, with a Labor Day record of $4.15 per gallon set earlier in the week. Americans are shelling out roughly $700 million more per day on gas and diesel combined than they were a year ago, he said. “There’s sticker shock there for consumers,” De Haan added.
Refinery capacity, not crude alone
The underlying driver is a supply squeeze that has been building for months. U.S. crude futures topped $100 a barrel on Thursday for the first time since May, gaining about 20% over September as fighting between the U.S. and Iran intensified this month.
But the diesel problem runs deeper than the crude price. Ukrainian strikes on Russian refineries have pushed Moscow to ban diesel exports outright. Iran and its Houthi allies in Yemen have attacked refineries belonging to U.S. Gulf allies, and attacks on tankers have constrained fuel shipments through the Strait of Hormuz.
Valero Chief Operating Officer Gary Simmons said on the refiner’s July 30 earnings call that the two wars have shut in refineries with roughly 5 million barrels per day of capacity. Andy Lipow, president of Lipow Oil Associates, wrote in a note Wednesday that the world has lost nearly 8% of its diesel supply, with little spare refining capacity to fill the gap.
That lack of slack is the crux of the problem. Helima Croft, head of global commodity strategy at RBC Capital Markets, told CNBC’s “Power Lunch” on Sept. 4 that rising diesel prices present an “enormous challenge” for the Trump administration. “U.S. refineries are running at 98% utilization rates — there is just no spare capacity,” she said.
With the refining system stretched and no quick fix in sight, the cost of a gallon of diesel is likely to stay at the center of the inflation conversation in the months ahead.
Source: www.cnbc.com — https://www.cnbc.com/2026/09/11/diesel-price-iran-strait-hormuz-ukraine-russia.html
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