The nationwide average price of diesel hit an all-time high of $6 per gallon on Friday, according to data from motor club AAA. The national average price of regular gas was $4.29, up 15 cents since last week and a 60% increase since the war with Iran began in late February. Experts predict that higher diesel prices will lead to inflationary problems for months to come, as the cost of diesel gets "tacked onto" just about everything from food to goods shipped across the economy. Diesel prices have been rising faster than regular gas due to damage to refineries in Eastern Europe and a Russian export ban on diesel.
Written by the local model on 2026-09-11,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
Farmers in the UK and US are grappling with an "astronomical" increase in fuel costs, driven by rising crude oil prices due to tensions between the US and Iran, as well as Russia's ban on diesel exports. In the UK, red diesel, used for agricultural vehicles, saw a 10% price hike over just a few days, jumping from £1.10 to around £1.24 per litre. Meanwhile, in the US, diesel prices hit an all-time high of $6.05 per gallon, up significantly from $3.70 last year and even surpassing $5.85 just a week prior, according to data from motor club AAA.
The surge in diesel costs has broad economic implications, affecting industries that rely heavily on fuel for transportation such as freight hauling and food distribution. For instance, perishable goods like meat and produce face immediate price pressures due to higher shipping and harvesting expenses. This increase is exacerbated by ongoing conflicts in the Middle East and Eastern Europe disrupting key refining and shipping routes, leading to a shortage of diesel supplies globally.
Experts warn that these rising costs will likely contribute to inflationary pressures for months to come, impacting consumers across various sectors including groceries and everyday goods transportation.
Written for “Diesel Price Surge Global Impact” on 2026-09-12,
grounded in this article and the 6 other(s) covering the same event.
The nationwide average price of diesel hit $6 per gallon Friday for the first time, an ominous record for the fuel that powers much of the U.S. economy.
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that → hit → economy
The price was $6.05 as of Friday morning, according to data from motor club AAA.
uncertain
price → accord → AAA
Since the war with Iran began in late February, the nationwide average diesel price has soared by 60%.
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price → begin → %
“The cost of diesel gets into just about everything,” KPMG chief economist Diane Swonk said in a recent interview.
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Swonk → get → interview
“From running a farm ... [to the] cost of food, but also everything across the economy that’s shipped,” she said.
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she → run → economy
When diesel prices rise, everything “gets that extra fee tacked onto it.”
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fee → rise → it
Swonk predicted that the high cost of diesel will be an “inflationary problem” for months to come.
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cost → predict → months
Since late July, diesel prices have been rising higher and faster overall than the cost of regular unleaded gas.
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prices → rise → gas
That’s because key refineries that produce it have been knocked offline or destroyed, both in Eastern Europe — where the Ukraine-Russia war still rages — and in the Middle East.
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war → ’ → East
And while all forms of fossil fuels this year have been affected by the blockade of the Strait of the Hormuz, diesel differs somewhat from crude and unleaded gas because of the central role Russian refineries play in the global supply.
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refineries → affect → supply
Russia typically exports more diesel than any other country, save for the U.S.
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Russia → export → U.S.
But damage to its refineries from Ukrainian drones forced the Kremlin to impose a sweeping diesel export ban in July that will remain at least through the end of September.
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that → force → September
“Consumers should be prepared to pay higher inflation for anything that requires being shipped,” Joseph Brusuelas, chief economist at the RSM management consulting firm, told NBC News.
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Brusuelas → prepare → News
Groceries are likely to be especially sensitive to higher diesel prices, Brusuelas said, in part because many supermarkets are already operating on razor-thin margins owing to the high cost of beef.
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supermarkets → say → beef
Beyond the supermarket, however, grocery prices will also reflect the rising cost of diesel across the entire food supply chain, starting with farmers.
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prices → reflect → farmers
The impact of $6-per-gallon diesel will make it even harder for some U.S. farmers, already under pressure this year from a fertilizer shortage, to stay afloat.
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farmers → make → shortage
“It’ll push me right to the edge,” said Mark Mueller, a fourth-generation Iowa farmer.
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Mueller → push → edge
“If I don’t get pushed over the edge by diesel fuel prices, higher fertilizer prices will push me over the edge because a lot of petroleum goes into fertilizer prices, as well.
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lot → push → prices
As long as the war in Iran keeps sending prices higher for necessities like diesel and fertilizer, he said, “we are endangering one of the strongest economic pillars that we have in this country through economic uncertainty, higher prices.”
“We’re shooting ourselves in the foot, and we don’t have to,” said Mueller, who chairs the Iowa Corn Growers Association.
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who → keep → Association
No relief in sight
Mueller is hardly alone in his frustration with how the war in Iran is affecting prices back home.
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war → affect → prices
As Republicans gathered in Dallas this week for what President Donald Trump dubbed a midterm election convention, a new NBC News poll found that around 70% of voters disapproved of his handling of the Iran war.
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% → gather → war
“I just see economic carnage the longer this war goes on,” Mueller said.
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Mueller → see → carnage
For more than six months, Trump has insisted that the Iran war will be short.
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war → insist → months
But this week he conceded that high gas prices are not likely to come down anytime soon.
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prices → concede → ?
“I think it’s going to take a little bit longer than the midterms” for the cost of gas to fall again, he told reporters en route to Dallas.
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he → think → Dallas
“Right after the election, oil prices are going to be tumbling downward.”
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prices → go → election
Over the past month, the price of U.S. crude oil has risen by more than 25%.
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price → rise → %
By contrast, diesel has been on an upward trajectory since 2022, when Russia invaded Ukraine.
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Russia → invade → Ukraine
In June of that year, the average price of diesel in the U.S. set a record at $5.82 per gallon.
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price → set → gallon
And while diesel prices fell some in the ensuing years, they have never returned to pre-2022 levels.
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they → fall → levels
The next time diesel prices soared was this spring, when the U.S. and Israel’s war with Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz and disrupted energy supplies around the world.
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war → soar → world
The latest jump in diesel prices is attributable, once again, to the Russia-Ukraine war, more than four years after it kicked off diesel’s initial march higher.
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it → kick → march
