Baltimore Gas Prices Jump 25 Cents, Hitting Multi-Year Highs

Gas prices in Baltimore climbed nearly 25 cents last week, pushing the city to multi-year highs as a national surge tied to the war with Iran sent drivers scrambling at the pump.

According to AAA, the national average hit $3.69 per gallon, up 24 cents from the previous week. Baltimore's increase tracked closely with that national jump, and drivers filling up across the city said they felt every penny of it.

"It's very frustrating, it's ridiculously frustrating," said one customer pumping gas in Baltimore. "It's at a point where you feel like, why are you working so hard? We're working harder and paying more for everything. So that's how I feel."

The price spike was visible at individual stations across the city. At the Royal Farms in Locust Point, prices climbed roughly 12 cents above what drivers paid the week prior. A customer there said the jump caught her off guard. "I didn't even realize it was $3.60," she said. "I had my boyfriend pump my gas, and he told me they were going up, but that's quite a bit higher than it was last week."

Maryland drivers have pointed to the war with Iran as a driving force behind the surge, a conflict that has rattled global oil markets and pushed energy costs higher across the country. AAA data also showed prices rose across the country compared to the prior month, continuing a trend that has squeezed household budgets already stretched by broader inflation.

For Baltimore commuters who depend on their cars to reach jobs in neighborhoods across the city, the sustained increase has become a recurring financial pressure with no clear relief in sight.