WASHINGTON, Oct 26 (Reuters) – US consumers are paying more than anyone in the world for the jump in fuel prices caused by supply disruptions resulting from the US war on Iran, including the virtual shutting and then blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, a study said on Monday.
• US consumers have paid an average of $471 more for higher fuel prices since the Iran war started on February 28, said the study by Finland-based nonprofit group Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air, which supports efforts to move off fossil fuels. That compares to an average of about $60 more for people around the world.
• US consumers are paying more due to reliance on less efficient private vehicles, longer distance travel and a relatively slow transition to electric vehicles, CREA said.
• To calculate the costs, the study compared fuel prices in January and February this year to what they were during the rest of the year.
• Consumers in Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Belgium have also paid a lot more, according to the study which looked at fuel prices and consumption in 169 countries from the beginning of March to mid-October.
• The world has paid an additional $468 billion for fuel during that time, with the US paying $160 billion, China $54 billion and Canada $17 billion.
• The administration of US President Donald Trump says higher fuel prices are a small cost for consumers to pay to stop Iran from getting nuclear weapons and that oil and fuel prices will fall when the war ends. The war has lasted longer than the administration predicted.
(Reporting by Timothy Gardner; Editing by Sanjeev Miglani)
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