Gas prices mid-August reached a new seasonal record on Wednesday, with the national average for regular unleaded at $4.03 per gallon, according to AAA. The average is about 16 cents higher than a month ago.
Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum research at GasBuddy, said on X that the national average “is now at its highest ever level this late in the calendar year,” noting the average has never topped $4 per gallon after Aug. 12 in prior years.
Prices are in their second sustained stretch above $4 per gallon this year after briefly dipping below that mark in June and July. So far in 2026, regular unleaded has logged 103 days at or above $4, or 46% of the year to date. That is the most days above $4 since 2022, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Gas prices mid-August rise alongside market volatility
The latest move at the pump arrived as new inflation data showed the gasoline index fell 2.9% in July from June, though it remained 24.6% higher than a year earlier.
Crude markets have been choppy amid an impasse between the United States and Iran over shipments through the Strait of Hormuz. Intelligence firm Kpler tracked just 14 vessels transiting the corridor on Tuesday.
West Texas Intermediate and Brent futures held near $82 and $88 per barrel, respectively, on Wednesday, after U.S. forces enforced a blockade of the strait by firing on a Panama-flagged ship attempting to cross the Gulf of Oman, according to officials.
Concerns about supply were also stoked by Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabian oil tankers in the Red Sea area.
“Regardless, the final third of 2026 will be considerably more expensive than what we’ve witnessed in previous years,” said Tom Kloza, chief oil analyst at Gulf Oil. He noted gasoline on global spot markets is trading near $130 per barrel, well above the $80 to $90 range reflected in futures.
Kloza said that, absent major hurricanes, pump prices could hover between $3.60 and $3.90 per gallon by this fall’s midterm elections, which would also be a seasonal high.
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