U.S. Fuel Prices Remain Elevated With No Sign Of Abating As Middle East Hostilities Rage On

Average U.S. gas prices on Saturday are now just 9 cents off this year's May 21 peak of $4.56 per gallon. Prices are most expensive in California, where a gallon now costs $6.13 on average.

Gas prices have risen precipitously since the beginning of the Iran War; the average gallon cost $2.98 on February 28 on the first day of hostilities. A temporary de-escalation in the conflict saw prices drop again between late May and early July, but they have since surged again, data from NBC's tracker shows.

NBC's diesel price tracker also shows that diesel prices hit $6.44 a gallon on Friday, their highest level since February 28.

President Donald Trump has been dismissive of price increases. More expensive gas was "a very inexpensive price to pay for what we've done, remember that", Trump told supporters on Wednesday during a rally in North Carolina.

The conflict in Iran itself shows no sign of slowing. On Friday, hundreds of thousands Iranians attended a government-organized march in a show of defiance against the U.S. and Israel. This was the largest pro-government demonstration since the beginning of the war.

The large mobilization was primarily made up of a volunteer force that will receive limited military training; videos from the rally showed both male and female combatants, with some in military uniform and others in more civilian clothing.

Iran has also continued to attack shipping in the vital Strait of Hormuz. The UK's Marine Trade Operations Center reported that at least three attacks on vessels had taken place between 16 and 18 September. On Friday, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard confirmed one of these attacks had been conducted against a vessel sailing under the Togolese flag.

The U.S. leadership seems just as motivated to continue waging this war.

"I have a big decision coming up. Do I want to go in and annihilate them or do I not? It's a big decision. Anything could happen with me", Trump told Axios in an interview on Thursday.

The prospect of an end to the hostilities, which are now approaching the seven-month mark, in the near future seems unlikely. JP Morgan recently revealed that, for the first time since war broke out, it no longer had a "baseline" forecast for when the conflict would end.

The American public agrees; a new Fox News poll showed that 71% of registered U.S. voters now believe that the Trump administration lacks a clear strategy for ending the war.

The continuation of the conflict is likely to mean further hikes in fuel prices: Liz Thomas, the chief market strategist at American digital financial services company SoFi, predicted that diesel prices could surpass $6.65 per gallon by election day.