Oil industry analyst Patrick De Haan was stunned on Wednesday as gas prices surged faster than he has ever remembered seeing.
In fact, he said on X, they're rising so fast in some parts of the country that the computer system he uses to keep track of it can't even keep up.
"Chills all over again folks — I just spotted Chicago ULSD wholesale prices — up 73 CENTS/gal," De Haan wrote. "Diesel in MI/IN/OH/IL/WI could get close to or soon exceed $6/gal — NEW RECORDS will be set."
When told by a commenter that the GasBuddy website still shows $4.28/gal average in Indiana, De Haan admitted, "it's nearly impossible for our system/algos right now — we've maybe never seen prices go up this much in one sitting."
These aren't the only shocks to the market De Haan had to report.
"Chicago/Midwest wholesale diesel now ABOVE the West Coast — $208 per barrel for ULSD ... the market is completely unhinged," he wrote. Jet fuel, too, is out of whack, he said: "One market today surged by... 91 cents... per gallon. Hard to fathom how panicked the market is right now in the Great Lakes."
Gas prices, according to experts and industry executives, have been destabilized in large part due to President Donald Trump's war in Iran, which has largely shut down the Strait of Hormuz, suspending around 20 percent of global oil shipping at a stroke. The surge coincides with catastrophically low approval numbers for the president as voters see new pain at the pump.
A report earlier today indicates that Trump is convening an "emergency" meeting with oil executives to try to find a solution.