Conflict Overseas Increases Diesel Prices In Green Country

While the prices for a gallon of unleaded has fallen below three dollars a gallon at some gas stations across Tulsa, diesel prices have spiked at the pump.

Rylie Fletcher with AAA Oklahoma says diesel prices in the state have gone up about fourteen cents in the past week.

“That is a bit of a significant increase for consumers, but comparatively to last year at this time, we still are forty cents less,” she said. 

Fletcher says this is because the price of oil is going up largely due to the conflict overseas in the middle east, even though neither Israel nor Palestine produce much petroleum.

She says the oil market is very sensitive to global events and diesel prices could move higher if the war expands beyond Israel.

“That’s when oil prices become a concern, those concerns we can see, even if they haven’t happened yet, we still see in prices today, as oil producers are cautious, just in case,” she said.

Any time prices go up, it’s a big hit to our wallets.

“That fluctuation and that increase can impact your wallet in a great way, especially as diesel vehicles typically have larger tanks, and so it costs more to fill them up,” said Fletcher. 

But there are some things you can do to use less diesel in your vehicle and help yourself save some money.

“You can reduce things like your AC, and be more consistent with your gas pedal, things like can make it so that you’re not using as much and having more fuel efficiency in your vehicle,” Fletcher said. 

As for where the future lies with this, Fletcher explains it's based on what happens with the war. 

“In the short-term future, it really depends on what happens geopolitically, and so we can’t predict what's going to happen with the Israel Hamas war, however, historically, when there aren’t these geopolitical concerns, in the short term we will see gas prices decrease,” she said. 

AAA has a variety of resources to help motorists save on fuel:

Click here for Fuel Price Finder, which locates the lowest fuel price in your area.