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by WILL FOLKS
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Fuel costs continued their stratospheric ascent from Labor Day records, with both regular unleaded and diesel fuel soaring ever higher over the past week.
According to AAA, the average cost for a gallon of regular unleaded jumped to $4.3163 on Monday (September 14, 2026) – up 3.9% from a week ago, 5.85% from last month and a whopping 35.94% from the same time last year. While that is shy of peak prices recorded during April and May – and the all-time record of $5.0165 set back in 2022 – forecasts call for additional increases to come.
Prices are up a jaw-dropping 48.33% since December.
Meanwhile, the cost of diesel – which fuels 97 percent of America’s tractor-trailer trucks – set a new record of $6.23 per gallon this week. That’s up 5.57% from a week ago, 14.8% from a month ago and a scarcely fathomable 68.73% from the same time a year ago.
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Prices were on a downward trend prior to U.S. president Donald Trump launching an ill-conceived war with the Islamic Republic of Iran in late February at the behest of the late Lindsey Graham and Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu. That conflict has devolved into a costly stalemate over the past seven months.
In South Carolina, the cost of a gallon of regular unleaded stood at $3.9243 as of Monday – up 4.64% from last week, 7.42% from last month and 39.13% from the same time last year.
Since December, prices have soared in the Palmetto State by 50.36% – although legislative leaders led by House speaker Murrell Smith, Senate president Thomas Alexander, ways and means chairman Bruce Bannister and others have steadfastly refused to temporarily suspend the state’s gasoline tax.
Smith and Bannister actually blocked an attempt in the House to hold a vote on such a proposal – although they later agreed to blow nearly $400 million in political pork (and let governor Henry McMaster blow another $150 million on a corporate welfare handout).
This week, S.C. agriculture commissioner candidate Cody Simpson echoed a previous call from attorney general Alan Wilson – the GOP nominee for governor this fall – to temporarily suspend the state’s 28.75-cent gasoline tax.
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“Our farmers, foresters, small businesses, and families need relief at the pump,” Simpson said. “Lower fuel costs mean lower costs at the grocery and hardware stores too.”
Wilson and Simpson have called for a suspension in taxes on diesel fuel, too, which has soared to $6.04 per gallon in South Carolina – up 5.73% from last week, 14.85% from last month and 76.94% from a year ago. That’s an absolutely debilitating spike for farmers and truckers – who are bearing the brunt of the fuel spike.
South Carolinians have historically suffered more at the pump than their national peers due to the state’s chronically low income levels – which force citizens to spend a higher share of what they earn on fuel costs. According to an analysis conducted last fall by FinanceBuzz, South Carolinians spent 2.82% of their income at the gas pump – well above the national average of 2.28%.
With prices projected to continue skyrocketing, South Carolina governor Henry McMaster – who has played politics with this issue before – should take immediate action. Specifically, the governor should convene an emergency session of the S.C. General Assembly and use his bully pulpit to encourage lawmakers to suspend the gas tax indefinitely.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR…
Will Folks is the founding editor of the news outlet you are currently reading. Prior to founding FITSNews, he served as press secretary to the governor of South Carolina. He lives in the Midlands region of the state with his wife and eight children.
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