(The Center Square) – Diesel fuel prices have fallen by a dime in the last week, more than a quarter in the last month, and traditional unleaded gasoline has nominally inched down a few pennies as North Carolinians returned from the Memorial Day holiday weekend Tuesday.
AAA’s projection of more than 1.3 million residents traveling 50 miles or more from home meant a lot of money spent for fuel. While diesel dropped from $5.39 to $5.28 in the last seven days, regular unleaded gasoline was down just three pennies to $4.14 for an average from Murphy to Manteo.
Tuesday’s national averages were $4.49 for unleaded regular and $5.58 for diesel. A month ago, North Carolina’s diesel average was $5.56.
The pain at the pump is directly tied to Operation Epic Fury in Iran, the joint military strikes launched by Israel and the United States on Feb. 28. Declared a conflict won by the United States within hours of its start by second-term Republican President Donald Trump, Tuesday represented 88 days since it began – a nearly three-month journey with hints of stoppage, even ceasefire announcements, and a wedge further driven between political opponents both nationally and internationally.
In fact, Tuesday also represented Day 50 since the April 7 late-night word from Trump of a double-sided ceasefire; and Day 22 since Secretary of State Marco Rubio at a White House briefing said, “The operation is over.” American forces delivered strikes to southern Iran, deemed defensive, on Tuesday.
Ships are not moving freely in the Strait of Hormuz, the waterway for about one-fifth of the world’s crude oil and natural gas.
A day before American and Israel launched strikes, the statewide norm for a gallon of unleaded gasoline was about $2.75 – up modestly from a low on Jan. 5 of $2.61. The price remains up 58.6% since the first of the year and $1.29 from a year ago.
North Carolina’s record is $4.67 on June 13, 2022, the month former President Joe Biden’s administration was trying to explain 9.1% inflation. Trump’s administration is explaining going from 2.4% inflation in February to 3.8% in April. It was 3% for January 2025 when he retook the White House.
On April 7, the $5.81 average for diesel set a record.
Per Environmental Protection Agency rules, June 1 – Monday of next week – to Sept. 15 is the time for less volatile summer blend fuel to be sold. In general, summer fuel is considered 10 cents to 15 cents higher per gallon.
Combustion engine consumers make up more than 8 million vehicle registrations in the nation’s ninth-largest state.
North Carolina’s electric vehicle charging rate average, according to AAA, is 40.8 cents per kilowatt-hour. The national average is 41.7 cents per kWh. More than 100,000 zero-emission vehicles are registered in the state. At the start of 2025, the state norm was 33.5 cents per kWh and the national was 34.7 cents per kWh.
Eleven states have lower average prices for a gallon of unleaded; 16 are lower for diesel; and 20 plus the District of Columbia are lower in electric. Oklahoma and Texas are the only states lower than $5 per gallon for diesel; six states are now under $4 for unleaded regular gasoline.
Among the 14 major metro areas, the least expensive average for unleaded gas is in the Fayetteville market at $3.94. The most expensive is the Durham-Chapel Hill metro area at $4.23.
Diesel is the most consumer-friendly ($5.10) in the Fayetteville market.
North Carolina’s 41 cents per gallon tax rate for 2026 is only less than California (61.2), Pennsylvania (57.6), Washington (55.4), Michigan (52.4), New Jersey (49.1), Illinois (48.3) and Maryland (46).
Motor fuel taxes in the state fund the Department of Transportation’s highway and multi-modal projects, accounting for more than half of the state transportation resources. The revenues go into the Highway Fund and the Highway Trust Fund.
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