# Diesel Hits Record $6.40 as Trump Calls Price 'Inexpensive'

- URL: https://twotakes.us/stories/diesel-hits-record-640-as-trump-calls-price-inexpensive
- Published: 2026-09-19T13:11:15.605549+00:00
- Topics: gas-prices, diesel, iran-war, inflation, economy

## What the left says
- Record diesel prices are already rippling through the economy, with Brown University estimating higher diesel costs have cost U.S. consumers more than $46 billion since the war began.
- Major food and consumer goods companies including Kroger, Smithfield, Hormel, and Newell Brands report that rising fuel and transportation costs are squeezing margins and will likely be passed on to consumers.
- The Department of Energy itself sharply raised its 2027 diesel price forecast, undercutting the administration's messaging that relief is imminent.
- Dismissing a record $6.40 diesel price as 'inexpensive' feels out of touch to households and businesses already straining under inflation, especially with California diesel poised to top $8 a gallon.

## What the right says
- President Trump frames the elevated fuel prices as a necessary and ultimately small trade-off for preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.
- Administration officials, including Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Energy Secretary Chris Wright, argue the price spike is temporary and predict a sharp drop once the Iran conflict concludes, with oil potentially falling to $40 a barrel.
- The price increases stem from real, war-driven supply disruptions, including reduced tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz and drone damage to a major Saudi pipeline, not from domestic policy failures.
- Gasoline prices had been falling for weeks before ticking up slightly, and the current national average remains below the 2022 record set under the Biden administration.

## Common ground
- Diesel prices have hit record highs, driven largely by disruptions from the Iran war and reduced shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz.
- Higher fuel costs are flowing into broader inflation, affecting food, transportation, and consumer goods prices nationwide.
- Administration officials and independent analysts both acknowledge significant uncertainty remains over how and when the conflict, and its impact on fuel prices, will end.
- Rising energy costs carry political risk for Republicans heading into the November midterm elections.

## Sources
- [Forbes](https://www.forbes.com/sites/fionariley/2026/09/08/diesel-prices-hit-a-record-as-global-fuel-supplies-stay-tight/) (Lean Right)
- [Blaze Media](https://www.theblaze.com/news/jp-morgan-oil-predictions) (Right)
- [Daily Wire](https://www.dailywire.com/news/diesel-prices-hit-all-time-high) (Right)
- [Axios](https://www.axios.com/2026/09/11/diesel-6-dollars) (Lean Left)
- [Axios](https://www.axios.com/2026/09/11/diesel-fuel-prices-food-transportation) (Lean Left)
- [Washington Examiner](https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/4622321/gas-prices-drop-of-nearly-60-cents-per-gallon-in-the-last-month/) (Lean Right)

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