Why Gas Prices Just Keep Going Up

Gas prices jumped 20 cents overnight from $3.99 to $4.19, and customers are asking what is going on.

The recent price spike is confusing because the war is no longer prominent in the news, unlike the initial conflict-driven increases.

The Houthis have seized territory along the Red Sea coast, giving them direct control over the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. Saudi Arabia's East-West pipeline was attacked and shut down, leaving the kingdom with no viable options to export oil.

The export blockade is an existential problem for Saudi Arabia because its entire economy and government budget depend on oil revenue.

Returning to war with the Houthis is unattractive, and diplomatic solutions are unlikely to succeed due to the group's maximalist demands.

Saudi Arabia has asked the U.S. for help fighting the Houthis, but President Trump has declined to get involved in airstrikes. Trump believes the Houthis only want to fight Saudi Arabia and sees no winning prospect in a U.S. military campaign against them.

The war is spiraling into complicated consequences, including devastating impacts on the global economy and a worsening humanitarian crisis in Yemen. Gulf Arab states always knew they would be vulnerable frontlines if Iran launched retaliatory attacks against the U.S.

The Federal Reserve raised interest rates by a quarter point to combat inflation that has been too high for too long.

President Trump threatened heavy tariffs on the EU for inviting Canada to become an associate member, calling it a potentially hostile act.