Reality bites.
At least at the gas pump, it does.
Gasoline prices in the United States rose on Sept. 8 as crude oil prices rose, with the war in the Middle East showing no signs of ending. It may even be expanding.
Related: $90 oil makes a sudden, unwelcome comeback
The worries about the Middle East led to a sharp selloff in U.S. stocks.
GasBuddy’s U.S. national average jumped nearly 6 cents a gallon to $4.154 as Americans went back to work after the long Labor Day weekend.
The price is the highest GasBuddy has recorded since June 5 when the daily average was $4.166 a gallon. The price was actually falling from its May highs of $4.566 a gallon, recorded on May 6 and May 20.
The bottom came on July 5 at $3.719 a gallon; the average has risen 11.6% since then. The price is now up about 46% in 2026.
The AAA Fuels price was $4.151 a gallon, up slightly from Sept. 7 and up 46.2% on the year.
U.S. gasoline prices over the Labor Day weekend were at their highest levels for the holiday.
Normally, gasoline and oil prices are starting to decline. The summer driving season is over in North America and Europe, and weather should start to cool off. That lets refiners change their formulations for gasoline.
Light sweet crude, the U.S. benchmark, was up 1.5% to $92.82 per 42-gallon barrel in New York trading and is up nearly 62% in 2026. That’s after peaking at $94.73 a barrel in early trading. The Sept. 4 close was $91.48 per barrel.
Brent crude, the global benchmark, settled at $97.92 a barrel in London, up about 1% on the day and up 1.7% from its Sept. 4 close of $96.28 a barrel. It peaked at $99.46 during the day.
Brent is up about 58% this year.
The attacks over the weekend between Iranian and U.S. forces over control of the key Strait of Hormuz gave way on Sept. 7 and Sept. 8 to more fighting between Houthi rebels in Yemen and the government of Saudi Arabia. More than 70 people were injured in the fighting, the Guardian newspaper reported.
The strait is the body of water that links the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Oman. Before Israel and the United States attacked Iran on Feb. 27, about 20% of the world’s crude oil would pass through the strait on its way to global customers.
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Energy and metals stocks rally
With oil prices on the rise, oil stocks were generally higher. The State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR exchange-traded fund (XLE) rose 1.3% to $64.86. Chevron (CVX) and Exxon Mobil ( XOM) climbed nearly 1%.
So, too, were stocks of companies involved in copper mining and processing.
Tariff battles between the United States and Canada and pushed copper prices to $6.784 a pound in New York. The metal hit a 52-week high of $6.873 a pound during the session.
A weak overall day for U.S. stocks
U.S. stocks reacted badly to the news from the Middle East.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was off 628 points to 52,786.
The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index fell 45 points to 7,674, and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 86 points to 26,421.
Related: Peace, no peace: Middle East turmoil leaves no one happy
