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Gas is $4.33 and Chevron is booming: the Iran war's bill at the pump | WTF America - media kit | The Receipts - Dataspheres AI

Gas is $4.33 a gallon, up 39% in a year, and diesel set a record. The root cause is the Iran war: Iranian attacks on tankers in the Strait of Hormuz, which...

Gas is $4.33 a gallon, up 39% in a year, and diesel set a record. The root cause is the Iran war: Iranian attacks on tankers in the Strait of Hormuz, which normally carries a fifth of the world's oil. Meanwhile Chevron earned $12.1 billion last quarter, against $2.5 billion a year earlier. Who pays, who gains, and what people can do. Watch Gas is $4.33 and Chevron is booming: the Iran war's bill at the pump (5 min), with captions The stories $4.33 a gallon Four thirty-three. That was the national average for regular gas on October fifteenth, a record for this time of year. A year ago it was three thirteen. That's up thirty-nine percent. And the same week, Chevron's stock hit a high. One cause sits behind both. Who is Chevron? First, who is Chevron? Chevron is one of America's two biggest oil companies, along with ExxonMobil. It pumps oil in Texas, New Mexico and around the world, and sells gas under the Chevron and Texaco names. On October nineteenth its stock reached two twenty-five sixty-seven, a fifty-two-week high. What changed: the Iran war What changed? On February twenty-eighth, the U.S. and Israel struck Iran, and the war began. Since then, Iran has attacked oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz. A record eleven tankers were hit in the week ending October fourth. At least nine sailors have been killed since July, according to the International Maritime Organization. Why the strait matters Why does one strait matter so much? About a fifth of the world's oil normally passes through it. Close to twenty million barrels a day. In mid-October, about nine point four million barrels a day got through. Roughly seventy percent of the prewar flow. Less oil reaching the market means a higher price for every barrel, everywhere. Including barrels that never go near Iran. The oil price behind it Here's the oil price. Brent, the world benchmark, was a hundred five dollars a barrel on October eighth. It closed at one oh nine eighty-six on the sixteenth. And on Monday, after new threats against Iran, it touched one ten ninety-seven. The highest since May. What it did to gas And here's what that did at the pump. Three thirteen a year ago. A peak of four forty-eight in May. Four thirty-three now. And September set a record: its average was fifty cents higher than any September before it. Why it matters: diesel Here's why it matters beyond the car. Diesel averaged six thirty-two a gallon on October sixth. Up seventy-two percent in a year. September was the highest diesel month on record. And diesel runs the trucks, trains and farm equipment that move food and goods. So it doesn't stay at the pump. It shows up in what everything costs to move. What a fill-up costs now Make it concrete. A fifteen-gallon fill at four thirty-three is about sixty-five dollars. A year ago, about forty-seven. That's roughly eighteen dollars more every time the tank gets filled. And it varies: California was six thirty-eight on October sixth. Indiana, three seventy-two. Who gains: Chevron's profit Now who gains. Chevron earned twelve point one billion dollars from April through June. The same three months last year: two point five billion. That's almost five times as much. Why oil companies win Why? Chevron sells its oil at the world price, and the war pushed that price up. Its cost to pump a barrel doesn't rise with the war. And its oil doesn't pass through the Strait of Hormuz, so it keeps selling all of it. Chevron's oil-producing business alone earned eight point two billion, against two point seven a year earlier. That's what investors are buying. Why pump prices fall slowly And when oil dips, why doesn't gas follow? Stations are still selling fuel they bought at higher prices. They protect their margins, so prices fall slower than they rise. And traders price in the fear of new attacks. A Morningstar strategist told ABC News: aren't we all trying to figure that out? The other side Now the other side. Oil companies don't set the world price. Global supply and fear do. High prices also pay for more drilling at home, which adds supply later. Taxes, refining and station margins are part of every gallon. And gas has eased from its May peak of four forty-eight. What people can do So what can people do? Check a gas app before filling up. Prices vary a lot across one town. And combine trips while prices stay high. The midterms are less than a month away. Ask candidates their plan for fuel prices. And watch Chevron's earnings on October thirtieth. Follow the WTF America community, and we'll follow the money with the next report. Listen The episode as audio Download and post Every file of this edition, with its ready-to-paste titles, descriptions and tags. Distribution kit Download the videos, audio, captions and carousel, or use the prepared post text below. Preview the carousel Videos Video 16:9 (1080p MP4) Vertical 9:16 (TikTok, Reels, Shorts) Vertical highlight Raw audio Final mix (lossless WAV) Final mix (MP3) Voice only (lossless WAV) Captions