Las Vegas average gas price up to $5.29 while Reno cost climbs even higher

Las Vegas drivers faced another painful week at the pump, with the average price for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline at $5.29 Monday, according to AAA — up about 7 cents from a week ago and about $1.39 higher than this time last year.

The Las Vegas metro average stood at $5.29, compared with $5.22 a week earlier and $5.02 a month ago. A year ago, drivers in the valley paid an average of $3.90 per gallon.

Statewide, Nevada’s average for regular unleaded reached $5.24 — up from $5.18 a week ago and $4.98 a month ago. A year ago, the statewide average was $3.93.

Reno drivers are paying even more, with the metro average at $5.42, compared with $5.41 a week earlier and $5.23 a month ago.

Nevada’s statewide average of $5.24 is 72 cents above the national average of $4.52, which is itself up about 6 cents from a week ago and about $1.39 higher than a year ago.

The surge traces to the U.S.-Israel war against Iran, which began in February when the United States and Israel launched an air campaign targeting Iran’s military and government infrastructure. In retaliation, Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz, a major maritime chokepoint for world energy trade, to nearly all shipping.

The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps issued warnings forbidding passage through the strait, boarded and attacked merchant ships, and laid sea mines in the strait.

Since mid-April, the U.S. has imposed its own counterblockade on Iranian ports, cutting off a key route for Iran’s oil exports and creating what analysts have described as a dual blockade.

The International Energy Agency has characterized the disruption as the “largest supply disruption in the history of the global oil market.”

Negotiations to end the conflict have grown more fraught. On Sunday, Iran delivered its latest response to a U.S. peace proposal through Pakistani mediators; Trump declared it “TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE” in a Truth Social post. In a separate CBS News phone interview Monday, he elaborated, calling it “a stupid proposal, actually … done by people that have no clue as to the danger they’re in.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in a “60 Minutes” interview that aired Sunday, said the war is “not over,” citing Iran’s remaining stockpile of highly enriched uranium and its nuclear enrichment facilities.

The back-and-forth has heightened concerns among analysts about the durability of the cease-fire reached in early April.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures for June delivery advanced more than 2% to $97.88 per barrel by midmorning today, according to market data. International benchmark Brent crude futures for July delivery rose more than 2% to $103.93.

Trump said today he aims to suspend the federal gas tax “for a period of time” to ease the burden on drivers. “We’re going to take off the gas tax for a period of time, and when gas goes down, we’ll let it phase back in,” he told CBS News.

But suspending the excise taxes — 18.4 cents per gallon on gasoline and 24.4 cents per gallon on diesel — requires an act of Congress, and pausing them would cost the federal government roughly half a billion dollars a week.

Revenue from the federal gas tax funds the Highway Trust Fund, which finances road construction, repairs and transit projects.

Democratic lawmakers in both chambers had already introduced legislation to pause the federal gas tax, and Republican Sen. Josh Hawley said today he would introduce his own suspension bill in the Senate.

According to the Energy Information Administration, U.S. gasoline demand decreased last week from 9.10 million barrels per day to 8.81 million. Total domestic gasoline supply dropped from 222.3 million barrels to 219.8 million, while gasoline production averaged 9.6 million barrels per day.

AAA’s all-time high for Las Vegas regular unleaded remains $5.61, recorded June 16, 2022. The current metro average of $5.29 sits about 33 cents below that record. Statewide, Nevada’s all-time regular unleaded record of $5.68 was also set June 16, 2022.

Diesel prices in the valley also remain elevated. The Las Vegas metro diesel average stood at $6.18, up slightly from $6.159 a week ago. The all-time Las Vegas metro diesel record of $6.49, according to AAA, was set April 9.

Drivers looking to ease the pain at the pump have limited options short of a congressional deal on the gas tax. AAA and GasBuddy recommend filling up midweek, when prices tend to dip under normal market conditions, and warehouse clubs such as Costco often offer below-average prices in the valley.