Regular gas prices in the Long Island and Lower Connecticut regions have soared from an average of $2.90 to $3.90 over the past month, according to AAA Northeast.
Mid and premium grades have also followed suit, rising by around 90 cents each during the same period.
However, diesel prices have seen the greatest increase at the pump, jumping by $1.80 in both regions.
The recent spike coincides with the United States’ invasion of Iran on February 28. The conflict led the price of a barrel of crude oil to surge from $71 on March 1 to a high of $118 just eight days later. As of March 26, it's currently selling for $95 per barrel, 39% higher than its average price last month and in March 2025.
The rise in cost is largely attributed to Iran’s closing of the Strait of Hormuz since the United States and Israel waged war on the country. Soon after hostilities broke out, Iran barred all cargo ships from accessing the strait. Oil shipped through the passageway is typically responsible for 20% of the world’s supply, or roughly 20 million barrels per day.
The largest single-day cost spike saw a 43% increase on March 8, as the United States and Israel continued to bomb Iranian oil depots. In reaction to the price rise, the U.S. Department of Energy announced it would release 172 million barrels of oil from its strategic petroleum reserve. This eased prices back down from $115 to $89 per barrel the next day.
The cost of crude oil has also been inflated by strikes on gas fields in the region by both sides of the conflict, such as Israel's bombing of Iran’s world’s largest South Pars gas field, and Iran’s retaliatory attacks on Qatar that wiped out 17% of the country’s liquid natural gas capacity. The strikes on Qatar are estimated to have cost the state $20 billion in annual revenue.
All of this has led to an average 28% increase in gas and 46% increase in diesel at the pump in Long Island and Lower Connecticut.
