Why Gas Prices Are Rising in Arkansas: Geopolitics, Summer Gasoline, and Inflation Pressures

By Arkansas Black Vitality Staff

LITTLE ROCK – March 20, 2026 – The first day of Spring arrived in Arkansas today (Friday, March 20), but the only thing budding at the pump was frustration, as gas prices crept toward $4 a gallon and left drivers from Blytheville to Bentonville feeling the pinch.

According to the former American Automobile Association (AAA), the spring equinox brought no relief to pump prices across the U.S., as the price paid for a gallon of regular unleaded rose to $3.91, up 28 cents from a week ago and 98 cents higher than a month ago.

Although Arkansas’s average gas price is nearly 50 cents below the national average, most of the state’s larger markets are seeing higher prices as many Americans transition from winter to spring break, like a bear emerging from hibernation and hitting the roads for warmer climates. What they will face is the highest fuel prices since the pandemic.

Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, said that until there is a significant resumption of oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz, upward pressure on fuel prices is likely to continue.

“Consumers continue to feel the impact of rising oil, gasoline, and diesel prices as geopolitical tensions in the Middle East remain high, pushing gasoline prices to their highest levels in years while diesel could soon approach the $5-per-gallon mark nationwide,” said DeHaan.

“At the same time, seasonal factors are starting to play a bigger role as several regions complete the switch to summer gasoline, creating a double headwind that could keep pump prices climbing in the weeks ahead,” said the GasBuddy energy analyst.

As consumers feel the pain at the pump, other energy analyst and economy watchers warn that higher fuel prices are already starting to seep into other sectors of the economy, which means higher inflation across the board.

Stewart Johnson, associate director for Deep Sector Content at FactSet, said in a market report this week that the war in the Middle East has choked the supply of crude oil transported through the Strait of Hormuz to the rest of the world.

“The resulting drastic reduction in the supply of crude to refineries has sent prices to levels last seen during the summer of 2022. In turn, the price of petroleum-dependent goods from gasoline to fertilizer has spiked, and the impact on food prices can be expected to follow,” Johnon warned.

Liz Krisberg, head of Bank of America Institute and David Tinsley, the institute’s senior economist, stated in a March 19 research note that the rise in gasoline spending could potentially dampen consumers’ ability to spend on “nice-to-have” or discretionary categories.

“But the ‘good news’ so far is that discretionary spending growth remains solid – in the week to March 14 it was up 5.3%. This strong momentum could be, in our view, due to relatively robust overall wage growth and higher 2026 tax refunds,” Bank of America economic forecasts said.

Energy Professionals, a leading energy consulting firm based in Clearwater, Fla., says the escalating conflict with Iran could also add new pressure to already rising electricity and natural gas prices across the country.

“Homes and business across the U.S. have already seen a significant increase in utility bills for the past five years, due to severe weather, growing electricity demand, AI data centers, and infrastructure upgrades,” the Clearwater, Fla-based firm said in a recent March 11 report. “Although many discussions relate to the conflict’s impact on gas prices, geopolitical disruptions often also affect natural gas and electricity prices.”

As it were, the White House’s decision to release 172 million barrels of oil from its strategic reserves over four months has little immediate impact on easing the oil market as the price per barrel of crude continues to rise.   

Excluding inventories in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR), U.S. crude oil stockpiles rose by 6.2 million barrels to 449.3 million barrels on March 13, according to weekly data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). Total motor gasoline inventories fell by 5.4 million barrels from last week and are 3% above the five year average for this time of year.

At the close of Wednesday’s formal trading session on the New York Mercantile Exchange, West Texas Intermediate, the nation’s premium grade of light, sweet crude, increased by 2.7%, or $2.18, to settle at $98.32 per barrel. International Brent futures in London rose to $ 112.19 per barrel, up 3.54% to $ 3.26, $40 higher than a year ago.

Arkansas gas prices averaging $3.14 per gallon, still among least expensive markets

According to AAA, Arkansas remains among the 10 least expensive gasoline markets at $3.36 per gallon, which ranks fourth behind Kansas and Oklahoma ($3.24), Iowa ($3.34), North Dakota ($3.35), South Dakota ($3.36), Nebraska ($3.37), Missouri ($3.38), Minnesota ($3.43), and Mississippi ($3.48) to round out the top ten. 

As always, California is by far the nation’s most expensive gasoline market, rising 25 cents to a whopping $5.65 per gallon this week, largely due to a combination of high taxes and fees, strict emissions standards, reformulated gasoline requirements, special fuel requirements, and limited refinery backup.

Behind California, the nation’s other most expensive gasoline markets are Washington State ($5.14), Hawaii ($5.07), Oregon ($4.70), Nevada ($4.66), Arizona ($4.43), Alaska ($4.42), Illinois ($4.04), Idaho ($3.98), and District of Columbia ($3.96).  

For electric car drivers, the nation’s top 10 least expensive states for public charging per kilowatt hour are Kansas (29 cents), Missouri (31 cents), Utah (33 cents), Maryland (33 cents), Nebraska (33 cents), Iowa (34 cents), Vermont (34 cents), South Dakota (34 cents), Delaware (36 cents), and Colorado (38 cents).  

 EV vehicle drivers will find West Virginia to be the most expensive state in the nation for public charging, with a rate of 53 cents per kilowatt hour. The other states in the top ten include Hawaii (51 cents), Alaska (50 cents), New Hampshire (47 cents), Louisiana (47 cents), South Carolina (46 cents), California (45 cents), New Jersey (45 cents), Arkansas (44 cents), and Idaho (43 cents).  

ARKANSAS MARKET
Meanwhile, Arkansas drivers are seeing wide range of pump prices in key markets, GasBuddy and AAA data show. For example, the lowest gasoline price in the state is at the Balboa Marina in Hot Springs Village at $2.75 per gallon.

Meanwhile, dozens of gas stations across the state are attracting customers by keeping pump prices just under $3 a gallon. For example, according to GasBuddy’s fuel finder, a price war seems to be breaking out in northwest Arkansas, with gas stations in Springdale and Fort Smith, as several stations in the area are allowing customers to fill up for under $2.90 a gallon.

As noted, Fort Smith has the lowest pump prices among all major markets, selling at $3.09 a gallon, 25 cents below the state average. The Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers market is close behind, with fuel costing $3.17 a gallon. All other metro markets across the state are well above the state’s average pump prices, with border cities Texarkana and West Memphis having the highest prices at $3.60 and $3.57 a gallon, respectively.

In Central Arkansas, drivers in the Little Rock-North Little Rock or Hot Springs areas will see gasoline prices averaging $3.40 and $3.41 per gallon. In Pine Bluff, drivers are paying one cent less at $3.39 per gallon, and in Jonesboro, they are paying one cent more at $3.42 per gallon.

Motorists seeking premium-grade gasoline and diesel fuel are paying well over $4 a gallon. To fill up with premium gasoline, motorists will have to pay $4.17 per gallon on average. As noted, truck drivers and other diesel vehicle operators are paying the highest prices at $4.64 per gallon, 20 cents above last week’s pump price and $1.37 above last month’s.