California gas prices rise above $5 a gallon amid US war with Iran

West coast state’s average cost per gallon has climbed $0.55 since the conflict in Middle East began over a week ago Sign up for the Breaking News US newsletter email The war in Iran has caused a spike in gas prices that is hitting California consumers especially hard, according to data from the American Automobile Association (AAA). AAA reports that in California, the most expensive US market for gas, the average price per gallon on Monday was $5.20, compared with $3.47 nationally. The national average climbed nearly $0.50 since the conflict began more than a week ago, while in the Golden state it rose by $0.55. Since the US and Israel launched attacks on Iran on 28 February, leading to intensifying violence across the Middle East, the price of oil surged to more than $100 a barrel for the first time in nearly four years. The conflict has damaged oil and gas facilities and stranded ships carrying roughly 20m barrels of oil a day in the Gulf. About 20% of the world’s oil is shipped through the strait of Hormuz every day but the channel has essentially been closed for the last week. Currently 9m barrels of oil a day are off the market due to attacks on facilities or producers taking