Diesel prices hit record high under Donald Trump

Donald Trump's new ‘affordable' America has broken another record: US diesel is now more expensive than it's ever been. During the first week of September, US diesel prices soared to more than $5.85 a gallon: a new record. Experts are attributing the rise in price directly to Donald Trump's grudge war with Iran, and the fallout from the price hike will impact every American. As Trump's war on Iran crosses the six-month mark, global oil and gas markets continue to struggle with access, pricing, and consistency, resulting in a fear-driven market where the consumer ultimately pays.

Trickle-down impacts

The price of diesel is more closely tied to affordability than gas, even if it feels more direct than the price you pay at the pump. Diesel prices impact shipping and transportation more than any other industry, and the trickle-down is felt directly by the consumer. Now that diesel is at an all-time high, US consumers can expect another rise in grocery, electronics, and other everyday goods. More expensive fuel costs will also impact small businesses across nearly every sector, as shipping, delivery, and distribution costs rise alongside the price of diesel fuel.

Grocery prices driven up… again

US affordability has taken a massive hit under the watch of Donald Trump. After Trump ran on a policy promising to bring down grocery prices and other necessities, the opposite has proven true. Nearly every major grocery item has risen in price since Trump's inauguration in November 2024, and the rise in grocery prices has increased even more since Trump began his war on Iran. Now, experts claim that US grocery prices are going to experience another major spike. According to economists, fresh meat, produce, and imported goods will experience a noticeable price surge as markets adjust to the inflated price of diesel. Americans can expect to pay more for beef, chicken, eggs, and produce, even as Trump continues to claim his priority is affordability.

While Trump may claim that he's bringing grocery prices down, the facts say otherwise. PolitiFact confirmed that inflation has grown under Donald Trump at a rate higher than the Biden administration ever caused, and that inflation is directly impacting the price of groceries. Every single consumer category except durables has risen under Trump, with massive increases affecting Americans' grocery bills. Under Donald Trump, the price of beef has grown 23 per cent, chicken has grown nearly 6 per cent, and fruits and vegetables have risen five per cent. The largest increase has actually come in the price of coffee, which has risen a whopping 35 per cent since Donald Trump took office in 2024. The only grocery item that has gone down in cost is eggs, which Donald Trump did promise he would rectify.

What's driving the price of diesel?

Before Donald Trump and the US launched its war on Iran in February 2026, the national average for a gallon of diesel was $3.75. That price quickly inflated as the cost of crude oil climbed due to supply chain disruptions. Production costs for crude oil also climbed across the Middle East as the Strait of Hormuz (a strait that transported roughly a third of the world's crude oil before the war) became a strategic tool used by both the US and Iran. With the Strait of Hormuz bottlenecked, oil supply chains were seriously disrupted, causing inflation in the global gas markets.

While the price of crude sank slightly during summer 2026 as peace talks grew, the prices skyrocketed after those peace talks dissolved in August. As fighting between the two countries increased, so did the price of crude, with a barrel of Brent crude climbing nearly 50 per cent. Now, Brent crude is trading at nearly $100 a barrel, and prices at the pump have followed that rise. The last time the price of crude oil was this high was in June 2022, after the war in Ukraine impacted global markets.

Not just America affected

While US markets dominate the conversation, the ripple of diesel fuel prices extends to dozens of other countries. Countries in Asia and Africa rely heavily on oil shipments from the Middle East travelling through the Strait of Hormuz, and they have already begun to experience the fallout from disrupted supply chains. Experts warn that these energy shocks may become a major crisis if things are not rectified quickly. Stock experts warn that global economic markets will suffer as Brent crude trades at a high price, and with major economies relying on oil from the Middle East, the fallout from these price increases could impact billions of people.