US gasoline futures extended their rally, climbing more than 4% to around $2.90 per gallon and moving back toward the four-year high reached earlier this week, as traders remained focused on the evolving war in Iran. Tehran has reportedly told regional mediators it will only consider a ceasefire if the US guarantees that neither Washington nor Israel will launch further strikes against it—conditions Washington is widely expected to reject, reducing the likelihood of a near-term resolution.
The conflict has significantly disrupted global oil flows, with the Strait of Hormuz now largely inaccessible. Producers across the Gulf have already curtailed output by roughly 6%, and additional cuts remain possible. These supply shocks have overshadowed international efforts to rein in surging crude and fuel prices, including a coordinated 400-million-barrel release from emergency reserves led by the International Energy Agency—the largest such drawdown on record. Of that total, 172 million barrels are set to come from the US and 80 million from Japan.
