Gas prices reach Labor Day high amid Iran war

(The Hill) — The average price of gas going into this Labor Day weekend reached a record holiday high compared to past years at $4.14 a gallon, according to a national tracking average from AAA. The previous record for Labor Day was $3.82 in 2012. The high price for fuel comes as diesel hit its highest price ever on Friday, at $5.85 a gallon. Both are surging because the war in Iran has strangled the supply of oil and gasoline around the world as the Strait of Hormuz, a key thoroughfare for tankers, remains closed. Trump administration officials have repeatedly sidestepped questions about the future of fuel prices. Energy Secretary Chris Wright, when asked Sunday by Dana Bash on CNN's 'State of the Union,' did not address whether gas prices could keep going up due to continued pressure from the Iran war and the war between Russia and Ukraine, among other factors. 'Look, I don't want to have an opinion on that, but if you look at the futures market right now, what can you buy gasoline for two months in advance from where we are today? It's down more than 30 cents a gallon from where it is today,' Wright said. He added that prices were more likely to go down than up, in his view.