Diesel prices are rising even faster than gas the surprising ways it could hit your wallet

Diesel prices are rising at a much faster clip than gasoline as the war in Iran disrupts critical oil supplies – and while most drivers don’t use the pricier fuel to fill up their tanks every day, it could bring the most pain to American wallets.National average diesel prices hit $4.78 a gallon on Tuesday, according to AAA – a whopping 27% jump since the joint US-Israeli air strikes on Iran on Feb.28.

Gasoline prices were $3.54 on Tuesday.The dramatic cost increases could be catastrophic for American farmers and truckers – but since diesel is integral to the transportation sector, it also means consumers could see prices rise on nearly everything in their home.“Everything that winds up in a grocery store or everything that winds up at your retail store of choice, all of that stuff, it gets transported there and diesel is such an important part of those transportation networks,” Jeff Krimmel, founder of Krimmel Strategy Group, told The Post.“These increased diesel costs spread across the whole economy and end up suppressing economic growth in ways that people might not immediately connect back to the cost of freight and transportation.”Truckers typically pass along part of those higher fuel costs to retailers and restaurants, who then transfer some of the added costs to consumers in the form of price hikes – so Americans could see prices rise on everything from clothing and food to electronics, appliances and home improvement goods.That could hammer the housing market, since more buyers will exit the market as the costs for furniture and home appliances stack up, according to Krimmel.Tehran has cut off access to the Strait of Hormuz, a vital maritime route for 20% of the world’s oil supply – sending West Texas Intermediate crude oil and Brent above $100 earlier in the week.The benchmarks have since dipped to $83.34 and $84.79, respectively.An unusually frigid winter across the northeastern US spiked demand for heating oil, which is virtually i...