Diesel prices hit record high

The average price of diesel hit an all-time high Friday in the U.S., as the conflict with Iran puts more strain on the global energy supply.

The average cost of a gallon of diesel in the U.S. was up to around $5.85 on Friday morning, according to AAA . This is a 58 percent cost increase from a year ago, when a gallon of diesel was around $3.71 on average, and nearly a 9 percent increase from last month, when a gallon was about $5.37 on average.

In addition to higher transportation costs, rising diesel prices are likely to push up the price of everyday goods, since the fuel is commonly used by commercial delivery trucks.

This marks the latest blow to the Trump administration’s efforts to downplay the domestic economic costs of the war with Iran in the lead-up to the midterm elections. The effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a major oil trading corridor, during the turmoil has strained global crude oil supplies.

In June, President Trump directed the Department of Justice (DOJ) to open an investigation into alleged gas price gouging as his approval rating took a hit amid rising fuel costs. A July poll from The Associated Press and NORC found that 66 percent of respondents disapproved of how the president is handling the U.S. economy.

In a Friday morning statement shared with The Hill, White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers said the president “remains committed to unleashing American energy dominance” and reducing costs.

“This week the President met with nearly a dozen refiners to discuss ways to expand our refining capacity, which will lower prices at the pump,” Rogers continued. “As the U.S. military fully degrades the terrorist Iranian regime’s ability to attack shipping vessels, oil and gas prices will fall back to pre-conflict levels.”

The price for standard gas has also been on the rise during the Iran war, which has now stretched into a sixth month. The average price of regular gas was around $4.18 per gallon on Friday, up from about $3.20 a gallon last year, according to AAA.

In August, fuel rate tracker GasBuddy found that standard gas prices were the highest they had ever been this late in the year. The group’s top petroleum analyst, Patrick De Haan, said the national average price of regular gas had never exceeded $4 per gallon after Aug. 12 in any previous year.