Los Angeles GasBuddy listing shows $8.71 regular price as war pushes fuel costs higher

A GasBuddy listing showed regular gasoline priced at $8.71 per gallon at a Chevron station at 901 N. Alameda St. in Los Angeles, a price that dwarfs what drivers are paying at most nearby stations and what Washington-area motorists are seeing at the pump.

GasBuddy relies on crowdsourced reports from drivers, and the listing was submitted by a single user roughly seven hours before publication. Individual entries can reflect brief spikes or pricing at one station that may not represent the broader local market.

Other listings visible on the GasBuddy map showed regular gasoline at nearby Los Angeles stations selling for roughly $4.99 to $6.59 per gallon — still well above the national average but a fraction of the Alameda Street price.

By contrast, most stations across the Washington area were showing regular gasoline in the $3.43 to $3.89 range on GasBuddy. A handful of District-area stations showed prices as high as $4.59, including an Exxon at 4812 MacArthur Blvd. NW in Washington.

The readings come as war-related disruptions push fuel costs higher across the country. The Strait of Hormuz, described in a Washington Times report Sunday as the world’s most critical oil chokepoint, remains largely closed to shipping because of the ongoing U.S.-Israel war against Iran.

Energy Secretary Chris Wright warned Sunday that Americans may face elevated prices for several more weeks. “It’s a short-term disruption to the flow of energy,” Mr. Wright said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “Americans are feeling it right now. Americans will feel it for a few more weeks.”

Asked whether gas could fall below $3 a gallon by summer, Mr. Wright said he thought there was “a very good chance that’ll be true,” while adding: “There’s no guarantees in war. The timeframe’s still not entirely clear.”