(The Center Square) – In the past week for North Carolinians, unleaded gasoline prices are down 22 cents and diesel 28 cents.
The statewide average is 38 cents better than the nation’s $4.32, according to AAA. A gallon of regular unleaded is $3.94 and diesel is $5.10 in the state. Diesel’s national average is $5.44.
The pain at the pump is directly tied to Operation Epic Fury in Iran, the joint military strikes launched by Israel and the United States on Feb. 28. Declared a conflict won by the United States within hours of its start by second-term Republican President Donald Trump, Monday represented 94 days since it began – a three-month journey with hints of stoppage, even ceasefire announcements, and a wedge further driven between political opponents both nationally and internationally.
Monday also represented Day 56 since the April 7 late-night word from Trump of a double-sided ceasefire; and Day 28 since Secretary of State Marco Rubio at a White House briefing said, “The operation is over.”
American forces said Monday strikes were delivered to radar and drone sites in Iran; officials in Tehran said an American drone was shot down during the weekend.
Ships are not moving freely in the Strait of Hormuz, the waterway for about one-fifth of the world’s crude oil and natural gas.
A day before American and Israel launched strikes, the statewide norm for a gallon of unleaded gasoline was about $2.75 – up modestly from a low on Jan. 5 of $2.61.
North Carolina’s record is $4.67 on June 13, 2022, the month former President Joe Biden’s administration was trying to explain 9.1% inflation. Trump’s administration is explaining going from 2.4% inflation in February to 3.8% in April. It was 3% for January 2025 when he retook the White House.
On April 7, the $5.81 average for diesel set a record.
Per Environmental Protection Agency rules, Monday was the beginning – through Sept. 15 – of the time for less volatile summer blend fuel to be sold. In general, summer fuel is considered 10 cents to 15 cents higher per gallon.
Combustion engine consumers make up more than 8 million vehicle registrations in the nation’s ninth-largest state.
North Carolina’s electric vehicle charging rate average, according to AAA, is 41.3 cents per kilowatt-hour. The national average is 41.7 cents per kWh. More than 100,000 zero-emission vehicles are registered in the state. At the start of 2025, the state norm was 33.5 cents per kWh and the national was 34.7 cents per kWh.
Twelve states have lower average prices for a gallon of unleaded; 16 are lower for diesel; and 21 plus the District of Columbia are lower in electric. Ten states have gone lower than $5 per gallon for diesel; six states are now under $4 for unleaded regular gasoline.
Among the 14 major metro areas, the least expensive average for unleaded gas is in the Fayetteville market at $3.72. The most expensive is the Asheville metro area at $4.11.
Diesel is the most consumer-friendly ($4.94) in the Fayetteville and Goldsboro markets.
North Carolina’s 41 cents per gallon tax rate for 2026 is only less than California (61.2), Pennsylvania (57.6), Washington (55.4), Michigan (52.4), New Jersey (49.1), Illinois (48.3) and Maryland (46).
Motor fuel taxes in the state fund the Department of Transportation’s highway and multi-modal projects, accounting for more than half of the state transportation resources. The revenues go into the Highway Fund and the Highway Trust Fund.
