Labor Day Weekend gas and diesel prices climb to record highs
The gas and fuel landscape in America has experienced tremendous volatility over the past six months. On the heels of a solid jobs report from the Labor Department, pain at the pump, unfortunately, is still a problem.
by Summer Lane | September 4, 2026
Labor Day Weekend in America may be one for the history books, thanks to ongoing energy volatility amid an ongoing conflict with Iran.
According to AAA, the national average per gallon for gas headed into Labor Day is $4.14, up four cents from last week. The highest-ever Labor Day gas average was previously $3.82 per gallon, in 2012.
Last year, the price per gallon for gasoline on Labor Day was $3.19.
The high prices are directly linked to the conflict in Iran, which centers around commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. Instability in the shipping corridor has driven crude oil prices into the $ 90-per-barrel range, according to AAA’s data.
Additionally, diesel prices in America hit an all-time high on September 4 (Friday), surpassing the record set in June 2022 ($5.82 per gallon), GasBuddy announced.
The new record is $5.85 per gallon for diesel.
“Diesel is the fuel that moves the economy, and when diesel prices reach record levels, the impact extends far beyond the transportation sector,” said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, in a statement.
He continued, “Higher diesel prices impact consumers as rising supply chain costs increase the price of groceries, household goods, deliveries, and countless other products Americans rely on every day.”
According to the agency’s analysis, diesel prices have risen more than $2 per gallon from just one year ago, as the war with Iran drives up those supply chain costs and disrupts the flow of energy worldwide.
The high cost of energy comes amid a surprisingly optimistic jobs report in August, released Friday, which found that the U.S. economy gained 162,000 jobs last month.
Amid the push-and-pull of economic pressures, President Donald Trump on Friday lashed out at critics of the war with Iran, slamming such voices for suffering from “Trump Derangement Syndrome.”
“The Radical Left Lunatics, Dumocrats, and Communists would rather have us LOSE the War in Iran, than have President Donald J. Trump WIN the War for America,” he wrote in a statement. “In other words, they’d rather have us LOSE than have us WIN! These are very sick people who suffer from serious TDS, sometimes referred to as TRUMP DERANGEMENT SYNDROME.”
Photo: Pixabay
