Twin Cities gas jumps to $3.79, up 18 cents in a week

Twin Cities motorists are paying more at the pump this week: retail gasoline in Minneapolis–St. Paul averaged $3.79 per gallon, an 18-cent increase from the week prior, according to local reporting. The rise follows broader upward movement in global crude markets as traders react to supply worries; while U.S. refiners and domestic production influence local prices, analysts point to international tensions and constrained shipping routes as amplifiers of price swings.

Those international factors are significant even if the U.S. is not fully dependent on Persian Gulf flows—about 8.2% of U.S. petroleum imports came from Persian Gulf countries in early 2026—but globally the Strait of Hormuz remains a critical chokepoint, carrying roughly 21% of world petroleum liquids in 2022. Financial firms have warned that prolonged disruption there could push Brent crude well above $100 a barrel, a dynamic that filters down to pump prices and adds to household fuel costs: the typical American household spent about $2,411 on gasoline in 2024, so sustained increases would materially boost that burden.

Public reaction has been strong on social platforms, where users have connected higher local pump prices to the same geopolitical events: some posts argue market-wide pricing means a Hormuz closure would raise U.S. prices regardless of domestic output, while others blame specific political actors for igniting conflict and subsequent supply shocks. Market analysts and business reporting have shifted coverage from initial reassurances about limited direct impact to a focus on how constrained shipping and tightening inventories translate into higher Brent and retail fuel costs—an evolution driven largely by financial analysts and market-watch outlets whose data on tanker traffic and futures pricing have made the link between geopolitical disruption and rising local pump prices harder to dismiss.