RICHMOND, Va. — At the Exxon 7-Eleven near Scott's Addition in Richmond Tuesday morning, unleaded gas was selling for $3.39 a gallon. That's a couple of cents above Virginia's statewide average of $3.32, but still about 40 cents higher than what drivers were paying just one week ago, according to AAA.
Richmond's average sits at $3.37, slightly below the national average of $3.53. But for drivers across the region and across the country, the sticker shock is real, and budgets are being squeezed.
"I am a teacher, so I am somewhat on a fixed budget, and I also do Uber on the side for extra money, and I definitely see it when I have to stop to get gas," one driver said.
The pain is being felt far beyond Virginia as Americans across the country are grappling with prices that have surged sharply.
The national average stood at $3.48 a gallon on Monday, up from $2.90 a month ago, before the war, according to AAA.
The Cause: A War and a Chokepoint
Experts say the price spike is being driven in large part by the U.S.-Israeli military conflict with Iran, which has disrupted the flow of oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz. That's the critical waterway through which roughly one-fifth of the world's oil passes. Oil has topped $100 a barrel for the first time in four years.
President Trump has defended the military action, insisting the short-term pain will be worth it.
"We're putting an end to all of this threat once and for all, and the result will be lower oil prices, oil and gas prices for American families," Trump said at a news conference Monday. The war, he added, is "just an excursion into something that had to be done."
But for many Americans, that promise rings hollow at the pump.
"He said he was going to bring gas down, but the war in Iran is now making everything worse," said Francisco Castillo, a 43-year-old factory worker from Iowa who voted for Trump in the last election. Castillo said he still has to go to work every day, regardless of what's happening in Washington or overseas.
Stretching Every Dollar
Back in Richmond, drivers described the same sense of resignation and adjustment.
"I'm not even filling up right now. I'm just barely, you know, trying to get by with, you know, putting 20 in. But that's not going to last all week. So yeah, it's crazy," another local driver said.
That sentiment echoes across the country.
In Morrisville, Pennsylvania, Kathryn Price Engelhard, a 70-year-old retired nonprofit executive director, said she had to stop at over a half a tank because she's on a fixed income. She's also cut her home heating oil order in half.
"I look at the prices of oil in the past and the stupid war — how did we — how did anybody — think that that was not going to impact oil?" she said. "Of course it's impacting oil."
A Quinnipiac poll conducted over the weekend found that while Americans are sharply divided on the military action itself, roughly half oppose it and 4 in 10 support it, three-quarters of registered voters said they are concerned about the war raising gas and oil prices.
Across the Political Spectrum
The frustration crosses party lines.
In Graham, North Carolina, Republican retiree Kevin Kertesz, paying $3.34 a gallon, up from $2.59 just last week, called the elevated prices outright gouging.
In Winter Park, Florida, 23-year-old Republican-leaning Tyler Nepple said the prices might affect how he votes in the midterms, but for now, there's no choice but to fill up.
"You've just got to fill it up and bite the bullet and hope that the prices go back down. That's all I can really do," Nepple said. "I still have to get from point A to point B, and I need gas to do that."
What's Next
Whether the price spike proves temporary or persistent depends largely on how the conflict in Iran unfolds. Some remain cautiously optimistic the shock will be short-lived. Others are less certain and already adapting.
For now, from Richmond to rural Iowa, the message at the pump is the same: Americans are paying the price, and they're watching closely.
Brendan King reports for CBS 6 in Richmond, Virginia. Additional reporting by The Associated Press.
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