Americans Rethink Driving as Fuel Costs Keep Climbing
Norway’s Offshore Oil Production Beats Forecasts in April Americans are commuting on the bus and train more and even turning toy cars into two-gallon cars to use for supermarket runs as the highest gasoline prices in four years are changing consumer behavior.
With prices soaring to $95 to fill the tank of a Toyota Highlander,drivers are improvisingwith small toy cars or using public transportation in cities and for commuting, Reuters reports.
While the surge in gasoline prices globally has spurred electric vehicle (EV) sales in Europe and Asia, the United States public is less inclined to buy an electric car, due to the lack of tax credits that the Trump Administration ended in September 2025.
drivers are increasingly considering EVs, but actual decisions and adoption is not as high in many other countries where gasoline prices have also spiked as a result of the Iran war.
“Today's rising gas prices may frustrate consumers, but their impact on EV adoption, at least so far, is subtle — nudging behavior gradually rather than triggering an immediate surge,” car search website Edmundssaidin April.
Related: IEA: Oil Shock Sparks Surge in EV Sales “Frustration at the pump alone won't sell electric vehicles — adoption depends on whether consumers are ready, not just resentful.” Two and a half months after the Iran war crippled oil and fuel supply from the Middle East, Americans have already paid $45 billion more on gasoline and diesel than they did at the same time last year, the Wall Street Journalhas estimated, based on an analysis of OPIS pricing data and U.S.
The Watson School of International and Public Affairs at Brown University published areporton Sunday, estimating that the extra fuel costs to U.S.
consumers have topped $40 billion, or more than $300 per household, since the start of the war.
“Overall, the higher prices resulting from this conflict increase the everyday costs of Americans.
This data shows that energy price shocks function as an economy-wide, unacknowledged tax on households, with costs comparable to large federal programs and policies,” the authors of the report wrote.
Americans were about to spend on Tuesday about $590 million more on gasoline alone versus the pre-war price, Patrick De Haan, Head of Petroleum Analysis at GasBuddy,has estimated.
Cumulatively, for the 80 days the Strait of Hormuz has been closed, Americans have now spent about $33 billion more on gasoline alone, according to De Haan.
| Product | Price | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Brent Crude | $102.14/bbl | ▲ +0.34% |
| WTI Crude | $96.90/bbl | ▲ +0.21% |
| EN590 Diesel | $846/MT | ▲ +0.18% |
| Jet Fuel A-1 | $1090/MT | ▲ +0.55% |
| Mazut M100 | $450/MT | ▼ -0.15% |
| Bitumen 60/70 | $470/MT | ▲ +0.08% |
| Sulphur Gran 99.5% | $470/MT | ▼ -0.44% |
| Urea 46% Gran | $650/MT | ▲ +1.12% |
| NPK 16-16-16 | $460/MT | ▼ -0.28% |
| Nat Gas TTF | $15.42/MMBtu | ▲ +0.92% |
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