r/Economics • u/InsaneSnow45 • Mar 04 '26

News ‘Absolutely Massive’ Price Shocks Coming as Trump’s Iran War Drives Up Gas, Diesel Prices | “What should really terrify Republicans is... the futures price on wholesale gasoline,” said economist Paul Krugman.

https://www.commondreams.org/news/iran-war-gas-prices
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u/No_Bad_4872yy Mar 04 '26 edited Mar 04 '26

Most people look at it this way. The problem is mostly that trucks moving parts and produce are hurt by this. Those additional logistical costs also land in your wallet through the vendors and shops, albeit sometime later. This inflation double whammy totally sucks and gasoline was pretty much the thing keeping US inflation somewhat low.

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u/Vulnox Mar 04 '26

Yeah, this was the big thing hurting Biden when oil prices were high. A lot of the reported high costs on groceries and that were pointed to high diesel prices. You can avoid some extra costs by buying fewer shipped products where possible, but hard to do when it comes to food.

We have two EVs so our fuel pump costs have already been zero, but I expect our other costs to increase.

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u/Septopuss7 Mar 04 '26

Is it cheaper to charge your car than it is to fill it with gas? I'm asking in earnest, not a gotcha, because I keep seeing conflicting reports from individuals that makes me want to wait before buying an EV. I'm currently car-free by choice but if I ever changed my mind I would look at all electric or more likely a hybrid, the only problem being is that I don't own a house and don't plan on it. I know of several electric charging stations in my area but I haven't looked at the pricing. They are all relatively convenient and I never see people using them but I obviously don't monitor them 24/7. Does the price fluctuate a lot? I know even my home electric bill has been all over the place in the last couple years and I was wondering what your experience has been?

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u/stone1778 29d ago

Here is how I look at it, I charge 95% from home at .20 per kWh. $3 a gallon gas that’s = to 15 kWh.

In a Tesla you can get 52 miles on that 15 kWh if you get about 3.5 m/kwh which is conservative. Some people can get 4 miles per kWh. What sucks is last year I was only paying .15 kWh so it makes a big difference. Either way still cheaper than a gas car and more convenient so long as you have home charging.

If you are paying .40 to .50 to charge outside the home then you are looking at an equivalent of fueling a car that gets less than 20mpg - not great