Fuel prices at record Labor Day high in US thanks to Iran War and refinery issues

Read the original at Toronto Star ↗
Cite

Collins, J. (2026, September 7). Fuel prices at record Labor Day high in US thanks to Iran War and refinery issues. Toronto Star. https://www.thestar.com/news/world/united-states/fuel-prices-at-record-labor-day-high-in-us-thanks-to-iran-war-and-refinery-issues/article_966dce06-13b1-5944-85c1-84802f046aeb.html

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

Toronto Star · collected 2026-09-07 · by Jeffrey Collins

Quick Summary

The national average price of regular gas in the US has reached a record high of $4.14 per gallon ahead of the Labor Day weekend, driven by disruptions in crude oil traffic through the Strait of Hormuz following the Iran War and refinery issues at home. According to AAA, this is nearly $1 higher than last year's price and surpasses the previous Labor Day weekend record of $3.82 set in 2012. The US Energy Secretary acknowledges that prices are currently higher than they were during Labor Day 2025, but expresses confidence that market forecasts indicate a decline in gas prices in the coming months. Meanwhile, experts attribute the high gas prices to a combination of factors, including refinery issues due to harsh weather conditions and declining output from Chinese refiners.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-09-07, using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the same event (that is the story summary below).

AI analysis runs on qwen2.5:14b, locally

Story summary

Millions of Americans are facing higher gas prices this Labor Day weekend, with the average price of regular gas reaching $4.14 per gallon, nearly a dollar higher than last year and well above the previous record of $3.82 from 2012. The price hike is attributed to disruptions caused by the Iran War, which began in February, and resulting shortages in crude oil traffic through the key Strait of Hormuz. This has led to increased transportation costs being passed on to consumers, affecting not just gas prices but also package delivery services and grocery bills. Diesel prices have reached an all-time high of $5.90 per gallon. The higher gasoline prices are also impacting President Donald Trump's economic approval ratings, as the inflation and affordability concerns continue to affect the country. Despite the increases, gas prices are not yet nearing the all-time highs set in 2022 amid the worst inflation wave in generations. Energy Secretary Chris Wright has acknowledged that prices are higher now than Labor Day 2025 but offered few specifics on when drivers might see relief at the pump.

Written for “US Labor Day Travel Prices” on 2026-10-22, grounded in this article and the 4 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 US Labor Day Travel Prices
Economy/Business · 5 article(s) covering the same event. Compare every outlet's account →

Compared with similar articles

This article reads leans left and hedges 12% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
ABC News (US) · 0.95 cosine similarity
⚖️ Centre further right than this 🔴 12% hedged 3 of 26 📰 publisher trust 59
“Both articles have identical text and dates, indicating they are reporting on the same specific real-world event.”
Both report
The two articles have identical text and dates, indicating they are reporting on the same specific real-world event: fuel prices in the US reaching a record high for Labor Day weekend due to the Iran War and refinery issues.
This one adds
One article mentions that trucks and other freight delivery systems use a lot of diesel, and that increased transportation cost is being passed on to consumers. This claim is made by Jeffrey Collins as The Associated Press, but it is not present in the other article.
The other adds
The ABC News article provides more specific numbers, stating that gas prices have hit a record high averaging $4.14 per gallon for Labor Day weekend. Additionally, the ABC News article uses slightly different wording to describe the situation, using phrases like "It's never been more expensive" and "take one last summer trip".
Framing
Both articles frame the issue as a significant problem for consumers, but the tone of the ABC News article is more attention-grabbing, highlighting the record high prices and emphasizing the impact on people's plans. The Associated Press article also highlights the issue, but with a slightly more neutral tone, providing some context about the Iran War and refinery issues contributing to the high prices.
CBS News · 0.95 cosine similarity
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 17% hedged 4 of 23 📰 publisher trust 66
“Both articles report on the current state of gas prices on Labor Day weekend, specifically citing a record high average price of $4.14 per gallon.”
Washington Examiner · 0.91 cosine similarity
⚖️ Leans left 🔴 8% hedged 1 of 13 📰 publisher trust 66
“Both articles report on the record high gas prices on Labor Day, with identical dates and almost identical price quotes ($4.14 in Article A vs $4.15 in Article B)”
Al Jazeera
⚖️ Leans left 🔴 19% hedged 4 of 21 📰 publisher trust 60
“Article B mentions Labor Day, while Article A does not, suggesting they cover different occurrences”
US diesel prices hit an all-time-high different event · 80%
BBC News
⚖️ Leans left 🔴 31% hedged 4 of 13 📰 publisher trust 69
“Article A mentions a record-breaking diesel price, while Article B focuses on gasoline prices and does not mention diesel”
Los Angeles Times
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 8% hedged 4 of 50 📰 publisher trust 95
“The articles report on different fuel price milestones, with one article discussing diesel prices and the other regular gasoline prices”
CBS News
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 11% hedged 13 of 121 📰 publisher trust 66
“Article A focuses on high fuel prices due to refinery issues and Iran War, while Article B focuses on rising oil prices due to Iran's plans to expand control over the Strait of Hormuz”
NPR
⚖️ Leans left 🔴 24% hedged 12 of 50 📰 publisher trust 60
“Article A discusses high gasoline prices on Labor Day weekend, while Article B reports on record-breaking diesel prices that have been rising over several days.”
NBC News
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 3% hedged 1 of 32 📰 publisher trust 95
“Article A mentions Labor Day weekend prices at record high for regular gas ($4.14/gallon), while Article B mentions a diesel price record of $6 per gallon on an unspecified day, with the national average price of regular gas also mentioned as $4.29”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
25
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
12%
3 of 25 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
Leans left
of the writing, not the subject · beta estimate
Publisher signals
63/100
Toronto Star's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
5
Economy/Business
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-09-07 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

Toronto Star · 9065 article(s) · 24 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 24 correction(s)
2026-10-07
Correction
2026-09-24
Correction

Who wrote this

Jeffrey Collins
9 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
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🔮 Energy Secretary Chris Wright offered few specifics on when the nation’s drivers might see relief at the gas pump, acknowledging that prices are higher now than Labor Day 2025.
🔮 Environmentalists and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer want to move the pipeline away from the waterway altogether, saying a spill would be catastrophic to the Great Lakes and surrounding area.
Also by Jeffrey Collins
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 9 articles by Jeffrey Collins →

Topics

AAA Iran Philadelphia South Carolina U.S.

Subjects

U.S. GPE · 3× Collins PERSON · 2× Iran GPE · 2× Metzgar PERSON · 2× Wright PERSON · 2× AAA ORG · 1× Claymont GPE · 1× Nicole Collins PERSON · 1× Philadelphia GPE · 1× South Carolina GPE · 1×

Narrative

Trucks and other freight delivery systems use a lot of diesel, and that increased transportation cost is being passed on to consumers, whether at the grocery store or through package delivery services.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-07
🔮 Energy Secretary Chris Wright offered few specifics on when the nation’s drivers might see relief at the gas pump, acknowledging that prices are higher now than Labor Day 2025.

Claims (25 extracted, 3 hedged)

It’s never been more expensive in the U.S. to fill up the tank and take one last summer trip over the Labor Day weekend. asserted
It → fill → weekend
The average price of regular gas was $4.14 a gallon heading into the holiday, nearly a dollar higher than last year and well above the Labor Day weekend record of $3.82 from 2012, according to AAA motor club. Nicole Collins planned to head from Philadelphia to South Carolina to visit friends, but she said her family has spent most of the summer close to home and not taking their typical weekend trips because driving has gotten so expensive. uncertain
driving → head → trips
It doesn’t help that we also have a baby, so we also have to pay for that,” Collins said outside a gas station in Claymont, Delaware, where regular gas was $4.199 a gallon. asserted
gas → help → Claymont
Prices shot up after the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran in February and have not settled down since. asserted
U.S. → shoot → February
Crude oil traffic through the key Strait of Hormuz has plunged, and Iran has refused to reopen the waterway. asserted
Iran → plunge → waterway
“Everything points to the Iran War and the Strait of Hormuz,” said Tom Seng, a professor of energy finance at Texas Christian University. asserted
Seng → point → University
Energy Secretary Chris Wright offered few specifics on when the nation’s drivers might see relief at the gas pump, acknowledging that prices are higher now than Labor Day 2025. uncertain
prices → offer → Day
“Yes, they’re higher today, but we’re doing everything we can to push them down,” Wright said Sunday on ABC’s “This Week.” asserted
Wright → ’re → Week
The national average for regular gas prices is still well below the record of $5.02 a gallon set in June 2022. asserted
average → set → June
Trucks and other freight delivery systems use a lot of diesel, and that increased transportation cost is being passed on to consumers, whether at the grocery store or through package delivery services. asserted
cost → use → services
“It doesn’t really seem like there’s an end to it,” Collins said. asserted
Collins → seem → it
Gas prices typically drop as the summer driving season ends and refineries turn to making a cheaper winter blend. asserted
refineries → drop → blend
But Seng said there are other factors this year even beyond the volatile situation in the Middle East that make future prices unpredictable. asserted
prices → say → East
U.S. refineries are working at 98% capacity, many in the unusually harsh Texas heat. asserted
refineries → work → heat
If there are problems there or a hurricane knocks some systems offline, prices will struggle to drop. asserted
prices → be → systems
And it’s not just a Middle East problem. asserted
it → ’ → ?
Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian refineries are squeezing diesel supplies. asserted
attacks → squeeze → supplies
Chinese refiners are seeing declining outputs as well, said Matthew Metzgar, a clinical professor of economics at UNC Charlotte. asserted
Metzgar → see → Charlotte
“There’s just less gasoline coming out of those refineries,” Metzgar said. asserted
Metzgar → ’ → refineries
Wright, the energy secretary, said the Trump administration was taking steps to increase production and that the markets forecast lower prices in the coming months. asserted
markets → say → months
“If you look at the futures prices, if you wanted to buy today in bulk gasoline for two months out in November, it’s about $0.35 cheaper than it is today. asserted
it → look → November
So the marketplace thinks gasoline prices are going to move meaningfully lower,” he said. asserted
he → think → ?
Geopolitically, though, there is little a driver can do to knock down gas prices. asserted
driver → be → prices
But using price apps can help save a little money, especially on long trips where gas by the interstate could be 10 to 15 cents per gallon more expensive than at stations a short drive down the road, Metzgar said. uncertain
Metzgar → use → road
_ Associated Press videojournalist Mingson Lau and reporter Gary Fields contributed. asserted
Lau → contribute → ?
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