The Cincinnati metropolitan area has seen the highest spike in gas prices nationwide since the U.S. entered a war with Iran a week ago.
In the week since the war in Iran began on Feb. 28, gas prices in Greater Cincinnati have increased about 80 cents to an average of roughly $3.43 per gallon, according to data from GasBuddy, which tracks fluctuations in gas costs.
That’s the largest rise in prices of any other metropolitan area in the country. Dayton, Ohio, is listed as the metropolitan area with the second-highest increase, the data show.
Global oil prices have jumped 16% since the war started on Saturday, as the spreading conflict disrupted Middle East supplies, USA TODAY reported.
The national average cost of gas has risen 27 cents since last week to $3.25 per gallon, according to AAA, a U.S. travel organization that tracks fuel prices. The current national average is 15 cents higher than a year ago.
President Donald Trump touted a drop in gas prices in his State of the Union address last month and at a Texas rally focused on energy that took place just hours before the U.S. launched its air strikes.
Trump demanded Iran’s “unconditional surrender” in a social media post on March 6, insisting “there will be no deal” to end the war. The president previously outlined a four-to-five-week timeline for the military campaign against Iran.
“I don’t have any concern about it,” he told Reuters when asked about the higher gas prices. “They’ll drop very rapidly when this is over, and if they rise, they rise, but this is far more important than having gasoline prices go up a little bit.”
USA TODAY contributed to this report.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Cincinnati area has highest gas prices spike in week since war in Iran
Reporting by Quinlan Bentley, Cincinnati Enquirer / Cincinnati Enquirer
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
