Gas prices at record high for any Labor Day, as diesel hits all-time record

Updated on: September 7, 2026 / 2:32 PM EDT

/ CBS/AP

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It's never been more expensive in the U.S. to fill up the tank and take one last summer trip over the Labor Day weekend. The average price of regular gas was $4.14 a gallon heading into the holiday and a penny higher on Labor Day itself, nearly a dollar higher than last year and well above the Labor Day weekend record of $3.82 from 2012, according to the AAA motor club.Gas prices have never topped $4 per gallon on Labor Day, AAA noted. The national average for regular gas prices is still well below the record of $5.02 a gallon set in June 2022. At the same time, diesel hit a national average of $5.85 a gallon on Friday, a record, then was another nickel higher on Monday, AAA reported.Trucks and other freight delivery systems use a lot of diesel, and that increased transportation cost is being passed on to consumers, whether at the grocery store or through package delivery services.Prices shot up after the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran in February and haven't settled down since. Crude oil traffic through the key Strait of Hormuz has plunged, and Iran has refused to reopen the waterway. "Everything points to the Iran War and the Strait of Hormuz," said Tom Seng, a professor of energy finance at Texas Christian University.