Gas prices top $4.50 a gallon, reaching highest level since July 2022

MoneyWatch Gas prices top $4.50 a gallon, reaching highest level since July 2022 .chip { background-image: url('/fly/bundles/cbsnewscore/images/chip-bgd/chip-bgd-moneywatch.jpg'); } By Aimee Picchi Aimee Picchi Associate Managing Editor, MoneyWatch Aimee Picchi is the associate managing editor for CBS MoneyWatch, where she covers business and personal finance. She previously worked at Bloomberg News and has written for national news outlets including USA Today and Consumer Reports. Read Full Bio Aimee Picchi May 6, 2026 / 10:55 AM EDT / CBS News Add CBS News on Google Gasoline prices across the U.S. surged to an average of $4.54 a gallon on Wednesday, the highest since July 2022, according to AAA data.The price of regular gas has jumped 52%, or $1.56 per gallon, since the start of the Iran war in late February, as disruptions to oil flows in the Middle East drive up costs for motorists.  Fuel costs climbed even as oil prices edged lower Wednesday on renewed hopes for a U.S.-Iran agreement, highlighting a disconnect between crude markets and what drivers pay at the pump. Lingering worries about supply disruptions, coupled with signs of broader violence in the Middle East, have pushed fuel costs higher over the past week."Gasoline prices rose in every state over the last week, with some of the most significant and fastest increases concentrated in the Great Lakes, where states like Michigan, Indiana, Ohio and Illinois saw sharp spikes, while Wisconsin experienced more modest gains," Patrick De Haan, a petroleum expert at tracking service GasBuddy, said in a report.Brent crude, the international benchmark, dropped $7, or 6.4%, to $102.83 a barrel on Wednesday. West Texas Intermediate, the U.S. benchmark, fell 6% to $96.11. Global oil supplies are constrained as the Strait of Hormuz, which carries 20% of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas, remains largely closed to ship traffic. "We're now over two months from when the conflict began," said Dave Se...