高的天然气价格随着选民在11月初之前将负担能力列为首要关注的问题，钱包将继续承压中期选举．
每加仑汽油的全国平均价格为4．27美元，自2月份伊朗战争爆发以来上涨了近1．30美元，涨幅为43%。美国汽车协会数据显示。
一些分析师告诉ABC新闻，在11月3日选举日之前，燃料价格不太可能大幅下降，他们预测汽油价格几乎肯定会保持在每加仑4美元以上。
分析师将天然气价格上涨归因于中东持续的战争，这场战争破坏了石油基础设施，迫使企业采用昂贵的方式运输原油。他们说，俄乌战争还抑制了俄罗斯的燃料出口，加剧了供应短缺。
分析人士说，几乎没有迹象表明这两种冲突会很快得到解决。他们补充称，例如，即使中东达成和平协议，石油成本下降，天然气价格也可能会以延迟的速度下降，因为零售商会通过购买成品油来销售，而油价则处于较高水平。
德克萨斯基督教大学能源金融教授Tom Seng告诉美国广播公司新闻说：“离选举还有几周，我们看到中东正在发生的事情越来越多，而不是某种形式的平静和能源价格下降的迹象。”
GasBuddy Petroleum分析师帕特里克·德哈恩排除了油价在11月初跌破每加仑4美元关口的可能性。“在中期选举之前，汽油不会跌破4美元／加仑，”德哈恩在x上的一篇帖子中说
作为全球石油交易基准的布伦特原油期货价格周四攀升至每桶112美元以上。直到本周，油价上次达到这一基准还是在5月份。最新数据显示，自伊朗战争开始以来，这一数字上升了近60%。
本周早些时候，在伊朗及其胡塞盟友声称袭击了中东的能源基础设施后，油价攀升。
伊斯兰革命卫队海军周四声称袭击了霍尔木兹海峡的四艘船只，指责这些船只航行在“非法路线”上，“将石油货物从一艘船转移到另一艘船上”
IRGC海军在半官方的法尔斯通讯社发表的一份声明中声称，这些船只是在波斯湾中北部被击中的。
IRGC海军也报告称，周三晚上，三艘船只在霍尔木兹海峡触雷。
这些报道是在也门的胡塞武装分子几天后发布的声称对沙特阿拉伯的一波打击，包括Shaybah油田以及在Yanbu的Saudi Aramco设施，Yanbu是一个港口城市，靠近红海的一个重要运输走廊。
据跟踪公司称，尽管战斗仍在继续，但该地区的原油出口在最近几周有所改善Kpler。道琼斯能源公司首席石油分析师Denton Cinquegrana告诉美国广播公司新闻，尽管如此，运输成本的增加和炼油厂基础设施的破坏已经中断了车用汽油所需的精炼产品的供应。
世界上最大的石油生产国美国从中东进口少量燃料。然而，由于石油和天然气是在全球市场上销售的，动荡导致包括美国司机在内的所有人的价格都在上涨。
“我相信你已经看到了离开霍尔木兹海峡的原油达到战前水平的一切。简单的事实是精炼产品不是，”辛克格拉纳说。“如果一个地方的价格上涨，他们很可能会拉高另一个地方的价格。”
一些分析师表示，战争的解决最终将缓解天然气价格，但不太可能在几天或几周内实现大幅缓解。他们表示，该地区一些关键的石油基础设施仍需要长期维修，而零售商可能不愿意降价。
休斯顿大学石油工程教授Ramanan Krishnamoorti告诉美国广播公司，天然气价格的下跌速度通常比上涨速度慢，因为零售商更喜欢通过高价收购库存来保持价格上涨。
Krishnamoorti说：“通常来说，油价的下降轨迹相当缓慢。”
即使未来几周天然气价格可能保持高位，一些分析师也承认有理由对加油站成本的总体前景抱有希望。
季节性波动通常在秋季为司机提供价格缓解。
旅行放缓缓解了对汽油的需求，因为家庭已经从暑假返回，并恢复了与工作和学校通勤相关的日常驾驶。
与此同时，炼油厂已经开始转向更便宜的冬季混合燃料。在较冷的秋季和冬季，炼油厂面临的环境保护局的规定较少，这使得混合燃料更便宜。
“每年的这个时候，需求往往会下降。这是季节性在起作用，”辛克格拉纳说。
然而，就目前而言，供应短缺可能会在未来几周内使油价保持在每加仑4美元以上。
当被问及美国天然气价格是否会在选举日之前跌破这一基准时，辛克格拉纳说，“简短的回答是：不会。”
Gas prices unlikely to fall below $4 a gallon before midterms， some experts say
Highgas pricescontinue to weigh on wallets as voters list affordability as a top concern ahead of early November＇smidterm elections．
The national average price of a gallon of gas stands at $4．27， marking an increase of nearly $1．30， or 43%， since the outbreak of the Iran war in February，AAAdata showed．
Fuel prices are unlikely to ease significantly before Election Day on Nov． 3， some analysts told ABC News， predicting gas prices would all but certainly remain above $4 a gallon．
Analysts attributed elevated gas prices to ongoing fighting in the Middle East， which has damaged oil infrastructure and forced firms to take up costly means of transporting crude． The Russia-Ukraine war has also crimped fuel exports from Russia， they said， compounding the supply shortage．
There is little indication of an imminent resolution of either conflict， the analysts said． Even in the event of a peace deal in the Middle East and a drop in oil costs， for instance， gas prices would likely fall at a delayed pace as retailers sell through refined product purchased while oil prices were at higher levels， they added．
＂It＇s weeks before the election and we’ve got a ramp up of what’s happening in the Middle East， as opposed to some type of calming and a sign energy prices are coming down，＂ Tom Seng， a professor of energy finance at Texas Christian University， told ABC News．
GasBuddy Petroleum Analyst Patrick De Haan ruled out the possibility of a fall below the $4 a gallon threshold by early November． ＂Gasoline will not fall below $4／gal prior to the midterms，＂ De Haan said in a post on X．
The Brent crude futures price， a benchmark for global oil trading， climbed above $112 a barrel on Thursday． Until this week， oil prices had last reached that benchmark in May． The latest reading amounts to a rise of nearly 60% since the start of the Iran war．
Oil prices climbed earlier this week after Iran and its Houthi allies claimed attacks on energy infrastructure in the Middle East．
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy claimed on Thursday to have attacked four vessels in the Strait of Hormuz， accusing the ships of navigating an ＂illegal route＂ and ＂transferring oil cargoes from one ship to another．＂
The ships were hit while in the north-central part of the Persian Gulf， the IRGC Navy claimed， in a statement published by the semi-official Fars News Agency．
The IRGC Navy also reported that three vessels hit naval mines in the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday night．
The reports came days after Yemen-based Houthi militantsclaimeda wave of strikes on Saudia Arabia， including the Shaybah oil field as well as Saudi Aramco facilities in Yanbu， a port city near a key transport corridor on the Red Sea．
Despite continued fighting， crude oil exports from the region had improved in recent weeks， according to tracking firmKpler． Even so， heightened transport costs and damaged refinery infrastructure have disrupted the supply of refined product necessary for auto gasoline， Denton Cinquegrana， chief oil analyst at Dow Jones Energy， told ABC News．
The U．S． -- the world＇s largest oil producer -- imports a small amount of fuel from the Middle East． Since oil and gas are sold on a global market， however， the unrest has sent prices rising for everyone， including U．S． drivers．
＂I’m sure you＇ve seen everything about crude oil leaving the Strait of Hormuz at pre-war levels． The simple fact is that refined products are not，＂ Cinquegrana said． ＂If prices are going up in one place， the chances are they will pull up prices in another place．＂
A resolution of the war would eventually ease gas prices， but it is unlikely that significant relief at the pump would materialize within days or weeks， some analysts said． Some key oil infrastructure in the region would still require lengthy repairs， they said， while retailers may prove reluctant to slash prices．
Gas prices usually fall at a slower pace than they rise， since retailers prefer to keep prices elevated as they sell through inventory acquired at high cost， Ramanan Krishnamoorti， a professor of petroleum engineering at the University of Houston， told ABC News．
＂It＇s usually a pretty slow downward trajectory for gas prices，＂ Krishnamoorti said．
Even if gas prices are likely to remain high within the coming weeks， some analysts acknowledged reason to be hopeful about the general outlook for costs at the pump．
Seasonal fluctuations typically provide price relief for drivers in the fall．
A slowdown in travel has eased demand for gas as families have returned from summer vacation and resumed routine driving associated with work and school commutes．
Refineries， meanwhile， have begun shifting toward a less-expensive blend of winter fuel． Refineries contend with fewer regulations from the Environmental Protection Agency in the cooler fall and winter months， allowing for a cheaper blend of fuel．
＂Demand tends to go down at this time of year． That＇s seasonality at play，＂ Cinquegrana said．
For now， however， a supply shortage will likely keep gas prices above $4 a gallon over the next couple weeks．
When asked about whether U．S． gas prices could fall below that benchmark by Election Day， Cinquegrana said， ＂Short answer： No．＂
