Gas prices jump in Minnesota as Middle East conflict widens
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Gas prices across Minnesota were averaging about $3 a gallon on Tuesday — a jump of nearly 17 cents a gallon since Monday, according to AAA.
That’s amid the uncertainty caused by the widening military conflict in the Middle East.
Gas prices in Minnesota are up more than 35 cents a gallon from a month ago — and are now a few cents higher than they were at this time last year.
There is significant variation across the state, with AAA reporting average prices of nearly $3.10 a gallon in the Twin Cities on Tuesday — but only about $2.86 in Duluth and $2.75 in Moorhead.
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The average price in Minnesota remains higher than neighboring states but is about a dime a gallon below the national average.
President Donald Trump on Tuesday acknowledged that oil and gas prices were going to rise as the U.S. remains engaged in the ongoing Middle East conflict, yet he argued that prices would drop once the war ends.
“We have a little high oil prices for a little while, but as soon as this ends, those prices are going to drop, I believe, lower than even before,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.
Oil prices soared Tuesday to levels not seen in more than a year as Iran launched a series of retaliatory attacks, including a drone strike on the U.S. Embassy in Saudi Arabia.
Iran has also struck energy facilities in Qatar and Saudi Arabia, and disrupted tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf through which a fifth of all oil traded passes, sending global oil and natural gas prices soaring.
The effects of the U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran, and subsequent military actions in the region, happened as gas prices were already rising as spring approaches.
AAA reported last week that the changeover from winter-blend gasoline to summer-blend gasoline — which contains more-expensive additives — typically causes prices to start rising in March.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
