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NEW YORK -- U.S. gas prices jumped back to $4 a gallon on average Monday, as Washington's latest fighting with Iran renews strain on the flow of fuel worldwide.
According to motor club AAA, the national average for a gallon of regular gasoline is now just above the $4 mark. That's about 13 cents more expensive than it was a week ago, and far higher than where prices at the pump stood at this time last year, when American drivers could full up for about $3.14 a gallon on average.
The U.S. and Israel's war with Iran plunged the world into an global energy crisis, notably as the cost of crude oil -- the main ingredient in gasoline -- soared due to supply chain and production disruptions across the Middle East.
Energy prices cooled last month, when Washington and Tehran reached an interim agreement aimed at permanently ending their fighting and reviving traffic in the key Strait of Hormuz. But that peace deal has now crumbled -- with the U.S. on Monday only intensifying airstrikes against Iran, which has responded by launching its own attacks on American allies in the region. And oil flows are largely stalling again.
Many eyes are on the White House. Before co-launching the war in late February, President Donald Trump once bragged about keeping gas prices low -- and expressed frustration about them not falling as quickly as the cost of crude oil last month. If prices continue to rebound, expensive gas will likely be at the top of voters' minds during the midterm elections this November.
Here's what we know.
Where gas prices stand today
Again, U.S. gas prices are now back at the $4 mark. But that figure is a national average, meaning drivers in some states have been paying well over $4 a gallon for a while now, while others pay less.
California on Monday continued to see the most expensive gas, with an average of nearly $5.50 a gallon -- followed by almost $5.42 in Hawaii and $5.01 in Washington state, per AAA. Meanwhile, states like Indiana and Mississippi have averages closer to $3.35 and $3.57, respectively.
Crude oil is the main ingredient in gasoline, and its cost makes up the bulk of what consumers pay at the pump. There's a bit of a delay because refineries buy crude in advance, and deliveries of that oil take time. But the latest gas prices follow an uptick in oil costs seen over recent weeks. The price of Brent crude, the international standard, swung between roughly $86 to $91 a barrel Monday -- compared to closer to $72 at the start of July.