No relief in sight for U.S. drivers as gas and diesel prices surge

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Gasoline and diesel prices continued to surge on Thursday, with energy experts warning that those costs are likely to climb in the days ahead amid festering geopolitical conflicts overseas.

"Consumers should plan on higher prices for longer," said Patrick De Haan, a petroleum expert at GasBuddy, which tracks U.S. fuel prices.

The national average for gasoline jumped 7 cents overnight to $4.44 a gallon, according to AAA, up nearly 50% since before the Iran war started in February. Diesel, essential for transporting food and other goods around the U.S., hit a record $6.40, up 77 cents since the beginning of September.

De Haan projects that gas could hit $4.50 a gallon later this week, citing GasBuddy data, which put the national average at $4.46 a gallon. Ongoing fighting in U.S.-Iran and Russia-Ukraine wars, which have crimped global oil supply, "increase the likelihood of further increases," he said.

De Haan said diesel could hit $6.60 a gallon as early as this weekend. A handful of states have already exceeded that benchmark, including California, where diesel costs an average of $8.35 a gallon, according to AAA.

Some motorists respond to higher gas prices by driving less, noted Tom Kloza, chief energy adviser for Gulf Oil. But reducing diesel consumption is harder given that the fuel is widely used in trucking, rail, construction and other critical commercial activities.

"Buckle up and recognize that inflation is likely to get turbocharged by these high prices for a product you probably don't care much about, which is diesel fuel," he told CBS News. "Everything that moves around the country and all crops are dependent on spending money on that fuel."

In addition to consumer goods, elevated diesel prices could also increase Americans' utility bills, Kloza said. Northeast residents in particular could also be in for an expensive winter, given that around 4 million households rely on heating oil, made from diesel, to keep their homes warm, he said.

"They're looking at prices in the $6 range," he said. "If you use 1,000 gallons in a winter, that's $6,000."

Kloza said that he foresees gasoline hovering between $4.25 and $4.50 a gallon — still painful for consumers, but not significantly above Thursday's national average.

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