Something’s not right when your local, normally reasonably-priced filling station sells gasoline above the statewide average. According to AAA, as of today, the national average gas price per gallon is $4.446. We pay more than any other state, $6.101, which as you can see from the Featured Image is about 10 cents higher. The station is located at El Cajon and Texas on the North Park side of the street. The Arco on the University Heights side of Texas is a dime less per gallon.
As the conflict, let’s call it war, with Iran continues, the long-term consequences are all guesswork, and plenty of pundits try to do just that. I suspect the immediate impact will be diminished in the United States because of domestic energy production and what the Trump administration can siphon off from Venezuela.
Big chucks of Asia, including China, and most of Europe are largely dependent on oil and natural gas imports. Then there are global disruptions to supply chains. Iran’s blockade of the Strait of Hormuz and the United States’ blockade of the blockade restrict commerce transporting an estimated 20-percent to 25-percent of oil that goes by sea.
We aren’t feeling massive price increases for food. Yet. That’s one of the everyday items most likely to be trucked and therefore highly susceptible to impact from rising fuel costs. Butter is up. Fresh ground beef (at Costco, at least) is down from a high reached months ago. Staples like apples and bananas are about the same as last year. We don’t shop canned Chef Boyardee pastas, but at Smart & Final today I observed that prices are close to what they were pre-SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome Coronavirus 2)/COVID-19. So, go figure.
The photo comes from Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra, today. Vitals: f/2.9, ISO 50, 1/1667 sec, 115mm (film equivalent); 3:53 p.m. PDT.