SCOTT DETROW, HOST:
And I'm Scott Detrow with - that's right - yet another story about rising oil and gasoline prices. And by now, you likely know the reason why - the U.S./Israel war with Iran and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. But we wanted to take a few minutes to explain why it is we keep bringing you these figures. NPR's personal finance reporter Stephan Bisaha has been following all of this and joins me now. Hey there.
STEPHAN BISAHA, BYLINE: Hey, Scott.
DETROW: Let's start with this - what big milestone did gasoline hit today?
BISAHA: Yeah, nationally, a gallon of regular gas at the pump now costs on average more than $4, not really all that much higher from what Americans were paying a week ago, just a few cents more. But if you compare it to a month ago before the war with Iran began, we are paying more than $1 per gallon extra. And this does have a huge psychological effect. I mean, think about that big sign in front of gas stations, the one that you pass every day, with that big four at the front. Plus, it really has been a while since gas was north of $4 a gallon. That was more than three years ago, and it was due to Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
DETROW: So you talked to some people at the pump over the weekend. What did you hear?
BISAHA: Yes, I went to a Buc-ee's in Leeds, Alabama. Like, picture a gas station chain that's sort of a cross between a Wawa and a Walmart. It is, like, a beloved pit stop in the South that's known for its clean bathrooms and a wall of jerky.
DETROW: Listen, I'm an - a connoisseur of these types of places, and Buc-ee's is great.
BISAHA: (Laughter) Oh, yeah - anytime I can stop by one. But, you know, despite that jerky, the drivers there were not too happy because of the cost of gas. But they did tell me they are able to bear it for now, at least in the short term - like Ron Purdin. He drove here from church to fill up, and he's hoping gas prices come down soon.
RON PURDIN: When you're on a fixed income like I am, it makes it tough.
BISAHA: Yeah. Are you having to cut back elsewhere 'cause of gas prices?
PURDIN: Not at the present so far because we've kind of prepared for it. We saved a little bit of it, lasts for a short period of time. Within two months, I'll feel it.
BISAHA: I should note there were plenty of other people who shrugged off these high prices and said they were still enjoying their spring break road trips. Just about every one of Buc-ee's 100 gas pumps was taken up - yeah, yeah, a lot of gas pumps there. And this is backed up by data by Arity. That's Allstate's mobility analytics company. Arity's data shows more Americans were driving mid-March than a month earlier.
DETROW: OK, so other than our inadvertent advertisement for Buc-ee's...
BISAHA: (Laughter).
DETROW: ...So far, this has sounded kind of like the stories we hear over and over again. But let's broaden out. Why is it that we keep doing these stories talking about gasoline and oil prices?
BISAHA: Yeah, I asked the same question to Joe DeLaura. He's the global energy specialist at Rabobank, and he's the world - he says the world really runs on crude oil. After all, oil refineries play a big role in making not just fuel but other products like plastic.
JOE DELAURA: There's 6,000 different products that come out of your average crude oil refinery that go into everything from shoes to housing to airplanes to fueling your car to growing your crops. Every single good, service, product that contributes to GDP all actually has some tie back to crude oil.
BISAHA: Yeah. And one of the most important things crude oil is used for is making diesel, and that price is up even more than gasoline. You might not put it in your tank, but diesel literally fuels the country's economy because that's how we get goods from factories and farms to eventually the grocery store. DeLaura gave me this example of fish, like shrimp or snapper caught in the Deep South. Diesel fuels the fishing boats, so that's a price hike there. And then there's the fuel for the truck getting that fish to grocery stores. That costs even more.
DELAURA: You're getting kind of sometimes double tapped by that rise in diesel prices, and then it gets even worse when you factor in gasoline. You have to pay more to drive to the grocery store to pay more for the fish.
BISAHA: Which really makes it not just like a double tap, kind of like a triple whammy.
DETROW: Are consumers feeling that yet?
BISAHA: Well, they're not paying more at - they are paying more at the pump, but, like, not so much at the grocery stores just yet. It can take a while for higher diesel prices to trickle down to that level. But if the Strait of Hormuz really stays closed into May like Rabobank is predicting, there's little doubt U.S. customers will be seeing price increases, not just at the gas pump but just about everywhere.
DETROW: NPR's Stephan Bisaha, thanks so much.
BISAHA: Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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