Gas prices on Long Island hit $4 average for first time since 2022, AAA says

Long Island gas prices surpassed an average of $4 per gallon for the first time in four years on Saturday, mirroring a nationwide trend of surging fuel costs triggered by the Iran war.

The price at the pump for regular gas in Nassau and Suffolk counties reached $4.004 Saturday, according to a tracker by AAA, more than $1 higher than the cost a month ago, when regular sold for $3.002. It's the first time since 2022 that average gas prices on Long Island have breached $4 — a threshold thought to impact driver behavior. 

Nationally, the price at the pump for regular gas stands at $4.104, AAA reported. 

"This is terrible," said Joe Castillo, 51, of Bayside, while filling up at a BP gas station on Northern Boulevard in Great Neck. "It's been painful the past couple of weeks."

Castillo said he usually fills up his car with premium gas but resorted to regular for Saturday's stop. The inflated cost may make him rethink travel for some upcoming plans with his family, he said. 

"It's probably less road trips this summer if it doesn't change," Castillo said. 

The attacks by the United States and Israel on Iran have created cascading effects across the global oil supply. The conflict has strangled exports through the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman where about one-fifth of the world's oil supply flows. Around 7% of U.S. crude oil travels through the strait, according to data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

Chris Daniello, executive director at the Long Island Gasoline Retailers Association, said oil exports through the strait need to be resolved before prices can come down. 

"Even though we don't really get much oil or any oil from Iran, it's the other countries in that area that we're getting oil from, and that's what's bottling up some of our delivery," Daniello said. 

Still, he anticipates prices coming down, albeit slowly. "Unfortunately, it goes up quick but comes down slow," Daniello said.

Drivers already dealing with inflation and spikes in other everyday costs are more likely to limit trips and consolidate errands with their commutes when gas prices spike, said Robert Sinclair Jr., senior manager of public affairs at AAA Northeast.

The $4 benchmark is "a major milestone in the negative sense for drivers," Sinclair said. "Most families don't have the elasticity in their budgets to deal with changing gasoline prices, especially as rapidly as they are changing."

Gas prices are lower on Long Island than the national average because much of its fuel is produced domestically and delivered by barges and pipelines rather than expensive tanker trucks, Newsday has reported.

The last time Long Island gas prices surpassed $4 was after Russia invaded Ukraine in early 2022. Average fuel prices on Long Island hit a peak of $5.046 in June 2022, according to a tally kept by Newsday. 

What do drivers think about the rising prices?

"It's terrible," said Hanna Sheppard, 31, of Huntington, while filling up her Mazda CX5 in Roslyn Heights. 

"It's making me drive a lot less, just to and from work," she said. "Anything else, I try not to do or I try to consolidate trips now."

Max Hillman, 32, of Garden City, was putting gas in his Kia Telluride at a Nassau Boulevard Shell station where regular gas cost $4.09. He said it's taking about $20 more to fill up his other car than usual.

"I think it's going to keep going up," he said, but the high price point doesn't change his need to use the car. "I mean, you have to get around."