US diesel hits record $5.85 a gallon as Russian refinery outages pull barrels off the market
Retail diesel set an all-time high Friday. AAA's national average was $5.85 a gallon, up from $5.7832 the day before, which was itself the highest since strikes on Iran began in early March. If you run trucks or haul product, your cost of goods just moved again, and it moved the wrong way.
The reason is mostly Russia. Ukraine has been hitting Russian refineries with long-range drones, and an estimated 40% of Russia's refining capacity is now offline. Moscow responded by halting diesel exports, which takes roughly 3% of daily global diesel supply out of the market. Diesel is a global product, so a cut that size shows up at US racks even though the barrels never came here. Add the Iran situation and the Strait of Hormuz, and crack spreads have widened, which is the refining margin baked into every gallon you buy.
Gas over $4
Gasoline crossed $4 a gallon nationally for the first time on a Labor Day weekend, with several outlets logging record holiday highs. Same drivers as diesel: firm crude and wide crack spreads on tight product. For c-store operators the squeeze is familiar. High street prices thin out fuel margin and pull discretionary dollars away from inside sales right when holiday traffic should be lifting them.
Bessent says $40
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Steve Bannon in an interview aired Friday that oil could fall to $40 or $50 a barrel once the Iran conflict ends. "We're going to be very much oversupplied in the oil market after this," he said, pointing to new supply coming online. Brent was near $95 Friday and has swung between roughly $73 and $126 since late February. Bessent gave no timeframe, and the fighting shows no sign of stopping, so treat it as a rough direction with no clock on it. Crude could ease if the conflict winds down and the strait stays open. It could also stay bid as long as neither happens.
Indiana holds the tax off
Indiana Gov. Mike Braun extended his suspension of the state's gasoline usage and excise taxes Thursday, keeping it in place through Oct. 6. Without the renewal, motorists would have paid an extra 61 cents a gallon this month. If you sell fuel in Indiana or run lanes through it, that gap matters to your pump price and your standing against neighboring states carrying full tax. Worth watching whether other governors staring at record holiday prices reach for the same lever.
OnCue's food win
OnCue took the No. 1 spot for Best Gas Station for Food in Reviewed's 2026 Readers' Choice Awards. It's a small item that points at a real trend. Foodservice is where c-store margin is going while fuel margin gets whipped around by events the counter can't control, and the operators winning on prepared food have more room to absorb weeks like this one.
What to watch
Whether Russia's export halt holds or eases as refineries come back, and how fast. Whether the Iran conflict moves toward the resolution Bessent is betting on. And whether more states follow Indiana with tax suspensions if pump prices stay at records into the fall.