Americans’ confidence in the economy has fallen to the lowest level in seven months as gas prices remain above $4 per gallon nationwide, forcing them to make financial sacrifices and change their driving habits, according to recent polls. The Conference Board said on Tuesday that its Consumer Confidence Index decreased to 89.4 in August, down from 90.2 in July, with its Chief Economist Dana M. Peterson saying consumers "were more pessimistic about business conditions and the labor market over the next six months." Soaring gas prices in the weeks and months following the start of the war in Iran in late February are one of the reasons Americans’ outlook has soured, as has their opinion of President Donald Trump and his administration.
Just before the U.S. and Israel launched joint strikes on Iran on February 28, the national average gas prices had finally dipped below $3 per gallon, at $2.98, in line with Trump’s campaign promise to lower the cost of living for everyday Americans. A month later, it had already reached $4 per gallon, driven up by disruptions in the global oil supply and the effective chokehold on the key Strait of Hormuz. With only a few months to go before the crucial November midterms, a new poll from YouGov and The Economist found that 36 percent of Americans approve of Trump while 57 percent disapprove.
The poll was conducted among 1,536 U.S. adults between August 21 and 24 and had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points. A /Ipsos poll released on Monday found 65 percent of respondents disapproving of the president’s job performance, while only 33 percent approved. It surveyed 1,215 adults nationwide between August 21 and 24 and had a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.
As of Wednesday, August 26, the national average gas price was $4.097 per gallon, according to the latest data by the American Automobile Association (AAA). Across the U.S., statewide averages ranged from a peak of $5.623 to a low of $3.491, with only eight states still having average prices of below $4 per gallon. As always, drivers in California paid the highest price in the nation, at $5.623 per gallon of regular gas.
These are the five states where drivers paid the most to fill the tank, in a list topped by the Golden State: These states are normally among the most expensive in the country. In California, a combination of high state taxes, strict environmental regulation, the isolation of the state’s fuel market and the specific type of blend used have long contributed to making gas more expensive than anywhere else in the nation. But as gas prices have increased all across the country, with no state spared since the start of the conflict in the Middle East, gas prices in California have reached levels unseen since the fall of 2023.
The all-time California record remains $6.44 per gallon, set on June 14, 2022, when prices spiked due to the impact of the pandemic supply disruptions and the Russian invasion of Ukraine. On the other hand, these are the five states with the lowest statewide average gas prices: The main reason why oil and gas prices spiked all over the world in the weeks and months following the start of the war in Iran is the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow waterway where one-fifth of the world’s oil normally used to transit. With only a few ships making it through the strait since late February, the global supply of oil has been squeezed, putting upward pressure on oil prices and, in turn, gas prices.
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