Diesel prices are reaching record highs across much of the country, squeezing farmers during harvest and threatening to push costs through the food supply chain, according to GasBuddy petroleum analyst Patrick De Haan.
While gasoline prices are also climbing, De Haan said diesel faces additional pressure from attacks on Russian refineries, on top of oil market disruptions tied to the war in Iran.
“It absolutely is,” De Haan said on “Seattle’s Morning News” when asked whether rising fuel costs are hurting farmers. “In some states, diesel prices were up 90% compared to a year ago. Those costs add up.”
The program’s hosts described a local farmer who said he was paying $60,000 more for fuel this harvest than last. De Haan said the consequences extend beyond farms, affecting processing, distribution and transportation to grocery stores.
“Every aisle is going to be impacted in a different way with these high diesel prices,” he said.
De Haan pointed to a farmer and former colleague who bought 26,000 gallons of diesel in July, a purchase he described as “perfectly timed.” But farmers buying fuel at today’s prices face substantially higher bills.
Oil prices have eased in recent days on hopes of dialogue between the U.S. and Iran ahead of the United Nations General Assembly meeting. President Donald Trump had raised the possibility of meeting with Iran’s president, giving markets some reason for optimism after earlier signals that the administration was not prepared to act.
Whether that translates into sustained relief remains uncertain.
“For now the markets are moving a little bit lower, and diesel prices may inch a bit lower subject to the outcome of potential talks,” De Haan said.
Asked to compare the current disruptions with Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, De Haan said the conflicts are affecting fuels differently.
He attributed much of the gasoline price increase to the Middle East conflict, including the U.S. attack on Iran and Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz. Diesel’s steeper climb also reflects Ukrainian attacks that have taken Russian refining capacity offline.
De Haan cautioned against a potential U.S. diesel export ban, saying a policy intended to lower prices could create problems for Washington and other West Coast states.
He said excess diesel supplies on the Gulf Coast could become cheaper under such a restriction, but warned that the benefits would not necessarily extend nationwide.
Gulf Coast diesel moves through the Panama Canal to California, Oregon, and Washington under a Jones Act waiver. He said the West Coast lacks enough refining capacity to meet its needs.
“It might be beneficial in the Gulf Coast where a lot of that excess diesel is, but it would create a lot of new problems,” he said.
He also said he was closely watching efforts to restore Saudi Arabia’s East-West Pipeline after an attack disrupted an important route for moving oil away from the Strait of Hormuz.
At gasoline pumps, Seattle’s increases have been smaller than the nation’s, though local prices remain substantially higher, according to figures De Haan cited.
Seattle’s average gasoline price was $5.73 a gallon, up a penny over the previous week and 94 cents from a year earlier.
Nationally, the average was $4.46 a gallon, up about 18 cents in a week and $1.30 over the year.
De Haan said Washington’s smaller increase offered a rare bright spot, even if drivers were unlikely to find much comfort in the total.
“It’s still very painful in Washington state,” he said.
Manda Factor is the host of “Seattle’s Morning News” on KIRO Newsradio. Follow Manda on X and email her here.