Atlanta gas prices rise amid U.S.-Iran conflict. They’ll likely rise more.

Gas prices in metro Atlanta are responding to the armed conflict in the Middle East, a key oil and gas-producing region, and analysts say those prices could continue to increase over the next several days.

On Monday afternoon, the metro area’s gas prices averaged $2.83 per gallon, up 14 cents from the previous week, according to numbers from Gas Buddy. The state’s average is slightly lower at $2.79 per gallon, up 12 cents from the previous week.

These numbers could rise another 10 to 30 cents over the next few days, said Matt McClain, an analyst with Gas Buddy, as a result of the volatility of the ongoing conflict between the U.S., Israel and Iran, which has disrupted shipping routes in the Middle East. When markets opened Monday morning, U.S. crude oil was at $75 per barrel, while the international standard Brent opened at $78.26.

The U.S. earlier this decade became a net exporter of petroleum, but still imports oil from a number of countries, including Canada, Mexico and nations in the Persian Gulf.

Because of this, the U.S. will not experience oil shortages or face a supply issue, McClain said. But the price at which crude oil is traded will be impacted, which will eventually trickle down to the price paid at the pump.

“No matter which way we do, no matter which way we slice it, there’s going to be a problem in pricing,” McClain said.

The joint military attacks on Iran spurred retaliatory strikes across the Middle East. On Saturday, commercial ship traffic began to slow through the Strait of Hormuz, a waterway on Iran’s southern border that serves as one of the world’s most important oil corridors, according to maritime data analyzed by The New York Times. Major shippers suspended vessel crossings in the waterway, including Maersk, which also halted reefer — or refrigerated — dangerous and special cargo acceptance in and out of Oman, Iraq, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, among other countries.

The Strait of Hormuz is a chokepoint — a narrow channel along widely used global sea routes important to global energy security. The inability to ship oil through a major chokepoint can create supply delays and raise shipping costs.

In 2024, oil flow through the Strait of Hormuz averaged the equivalent of 20% of global petroleum liquids consumption, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Few alternative options exist to move oil out of the strait if it is closed.

The EIA estimates 84% of the crude oil and condensate that moved through the Strait of Hormuz went to Asian markets in 2024, with China, India, Japan and South Korea among the top destinations.

Iran is one of the world’s largest oil suppliers and holds about 13% of global oil reserves, according to data from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries. The U.S. does not, however, source any of its oil from Iran because of ongoing sanctions. But a major customer for Iranian oil is China.

Though prices in Atlanta are higher than they were a week ago, they’re still lower than they were this time last year, when the average per gallon was $2.96, McClain said. Crude oil prices declined in 2025 because of slowing economic activity and increases in production from OPEC countries, according to the EIA.