If you filled up this week, your wallet already knows: gas prices are up — sharply.
Regular unleaded in Macon County is averaging $3.651 per gallon as of mid-April, according to AAA. That is nearly in line with the Missouri state average of $3.665, and well below the national average of $4.118. On that score, local drivers are catching a break compared to most of the country.
But the year-over-year picture is harder to swallow. Twelve months ago, Missourians were paying around $2.87 at the pump. That is a jump of nearly 80 cents per gallon — a 27 percent increase in a single year.
A major reason sits 7,000 miles away.
In early March, the United States and Israel struck military targets inside Iran, triggering a retaliatory closure of the Strait of Hormuz — the narrow waterway through which roughly 20 percent of the world’s oil supply flows every day. The International Energy Agency called it the largest oil supply disruption in global market history. Crude prices spiked immediately, jumping 10 to 13 percent within days of the conflict’s outbreak.
A ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran was announced on April 8, but tanker traffic through the Strait remains far below pre-war levels. Analysts noted the market was already pricing in a significant risk premium as of early March, with forecasts suggesting prices could reach $100 per barrel if disruptions persist.
Missouri’s domestic production and refinery infrastructure have provided some cushion — Macon County prices remain nearly 50 cents below the national average. But that buffer has limits.
For now, analysts expect crude to settle back toward $70 per barrel by year’s end if the ceasefire holds. Until the strait fully reopens, prices at every pump in Macon County reflect a crisis unfolding on the other side of the world.
Source: AAA Fuel Prices, gasprices.aaa.com. Prices as of April 14, 2026.