U.S. Average Gasoline Price Tops $4 After Strait of Hormuz Closure

Sudden fuel-price leaps at geopolitical flashpoints echo the 1973 Arab oil embargo, when prices quadrupled in weeks, and the January 1991 Gulf War spike to $40/bbl; both episodes linked chokepoint insecurity to consumer inflation. Today's surge again underscores how a single maritime artery—Hormuz, handling ~20 % of global crude—can outweigh record U.S. production or strategic stockpiles. The pattern exposes a century-old energy system still hostage to fossil-fuel logistics despite talk of ‘energy dominance’. Over a 100-year lens, this moment may be another reminder—like 2022’s Ukraine shock—that fossil supply shocks recur every decade, nudging policy toward diversification (electric mobility, regional refining mixes) but also reviving calls for domestic tax relief and military guarantees. Whether this spike accelerates structural transition or repeats the post-2008 cycle of forgotten urgency will shape energy security politics well beyond the current war.