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Reignited fighting in Strait of Hormuz pushes gas prices higher
Stacy Wescoe//July 14, 2026//
As hostilities reignite along the Strait of Hormuz, gas prices have started heading back up again.
This comes after several weeks of price drops following a cease-fire agreement.
In Pennsylvania, the average price for a gallon of gas is a penny higher this week at $3.964, according to AAA East Central‘s most recent gas price report.
In the Lehigh Valley, motorists are seeing a more dramatic increase. On July 13, the average price for a gallon of regular gas was $3.880. That’s up from $3.688 one week ago and $3.083 this time last year.
The national average for a gallon of regular gasoline went up eight cents over the past week to $3.87 after steadily dropping since late May.
Crude oil prices are currently over $70 per barrel.
However, prices are still lower than they were in the spring.
AAA said the national average peaked at $4.56 on May 21. Today’s national average is 21 cents less than a month ago but 72 cents more than a year ago.
According to new data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA), gasoline demand decreased last week from 9.13 million barrels per day to 8.84 million. Total domestic gasoline supply decreased from 214 million barrels to 212.1 million.
Gasoline production decreased last week, averaging 9.7 million barrels per day.
At the close of Wednesday’s formal trading session, West Texas Intermediate rose $3.08 to settle at $73.52 a barrel.
The EIA reports that crude oil inventories increased by 3 million barrels from the previous week.
At 411.4 million barrels, U.S. crude oil inventories are about 6% below the five-year average for this time of year.
