New Mexicans are hearing plenty about pain at the pump, but not enough about the why. cbsnews
And the why matters, because this is not 2022 all over again. bls
Back in 2022, Americans were getting crushed by a full-spectrum inflation blowtorch. U.S. inflation hit 9.1 percent in June 2022, the highest annual increase in 40 years, and BLS said the biggest drivers were gasoline, shelter, and food, with energy up 41.6 percent over the year. bls
AAA said the March 2022 spike at the pump was driven by the Russia-Ukraine war, soaring crude prices, tight fuel supplies, and rising demand. gasprices.aaa
Around this same point in March 2022, the national gas average was $4.25 a gallon after touching a record $4.33 on March 11. gasprices.aaa
That is what made 2022 so brutal. It was not just gas. It was groceries, rent, power, and everything else hitting families at once. bls
People were not imagining it. The whole economy felt like it was on fire, because for working households, it pretty much was. bls
Now look at 2026. Inflation is running at 2.4 percent year over year as of February, which is dramatically lower than 2022. bls
National gas is about $3.91 today, and New Mexico is around $3.84, which is painful and higher than last year, but still below the worst 2022 levels. gasprices.aaa
New Mexico’s own 2022 peak average regular price reached $4.877 in June of that year, roughly a dollar above today’s state average. gasprices.aaa
So what is driving the current spike. This time, the pain looks much more concentrated in oil and gasoline than in the whole consumer economy. newsroom.aaa
AAA and multiple national reports tie the 2026 jump mainly to the Iran conflict and fears over Middle East supply disruption, especially around the Strait of Hormuz. time
That is the key difference New Mexicans deserve to hear clearly: 2022 was broad inflation plus an oil shock, while 2026 looks more like a conflict-driven oil shock inside a much cooler inflation environment. cbsnews
That does not make today’s pain fake. It means the mechanics are different. bls
And when the mechanics are different, the likely path out is different too. reuters
In 2022, relief depended on taming a broad inflation surge across the economy. bls
In 2026, the big variable is energy supply and whether this conflict stays contained or drags on. reuters
Reuters reported the White House has said the current rise in energy prices tied to Iran is temporary, while other coverage shows the administration publicly arguing that prices should ease as conditions stabilize. fortune
At the same time, OPEC+ agreed to boost output by about 206,000 barrels per day in April, which is one of the main supply-side levers that could help cool prices if the market believes the disruption will be limited. worldoil
That is the honest middle ground. New Mexicans should not be told to shrug off higher prices, and they should not be misled into thinking this is another 2022-style runaway inflation spiral. bls
It is serious, but it is narrower. cbsnews
If the conflict is resolved quickly, shipping normalizes, and supply additions reach market, this spike has a better chance of easing than the broader inflation crisis people lived through four years ago. reuters
And that is what real leadership sounds like: explain the pain, explain the cause, explain the likely off-ramp.
New Mexicans are smart enough to handle the truth. 2022 was worse, and the numbers prove it: 9.1 percent inflation, record gas prices, and a broad cost-of-living squeeze hitting families from every direction. gasprices.aaa
2026 hurts too, but this looks far more like a war-driven oil spike than an economy-wide inflation inferno. newsroom.aaa
People deserve that context from their leaders, not just recycled outrage and political theater.
