US motorists skimp at the pump as Iran war keeps petrol prices high

us motorists are buying less petrol as iran-related supply fears keep prices elevated. the average gallon hit $4.15 last week, up 28% from a year ago. that's a political headache for trump ahead of november's midterms — voters tend to blame the white house when filling up gets painful. demand at the pump dropped 3.2% in march compared to last year, according to the energy information administration. the white house has asked opec to pump more, but the cartel has held output steady. the iran conflict has added a risk premium to crude that analysts didn't expect to persist this long.