On March 5, the AAA Gas Prices website reported, “The national average for a gallon of regular gasoline jumped nearly 27 cents since last week to $3.25. The conflict in the Middle East has sent crude oil prices higher to the mid $70/barrel range.” AAA added, “The last time the national average made a similar weekly jump was back in March of 2022 during the start of the Russia/Ukraine conflict.”
As of Tuesday, March 10, the national average for a gallon of regular gasoline had jumped another 29 cents to $3.54. In Massachusetts, a gallon of regular was $3.41, up from $2.98 a week earlier, according toAAA.
According toPBS, the 2026 conflict in Iran has increased global grocery prices by driving up oil costs, which affects transportation, and by disrupting fertilizer supply chains, with Middle East exports accounting for roughly 30% of the world’s fertilizer. The conflict is causing immediate, widespread food cost inflation, particularly for staples like rice, fresh produce, and canned goods.
On a smaller scale, the production and supply of Dubai chocolate are both impacted by tensions and conflict involving Iran, primarily through supply chain disruptions and surging ingredient costs. The closure of the Strait of Hormuz has hindered the transport of key ingredients like cocoa, sugar, and packaging, while high demand for Iranian pistachios, a crucial component of the viral chocolate, has driven up prices.
The Acton Exchange asked a number of local officials and Acton residents if world events are touching home and how their lives have been affected by the attack on Iran. They talked about more than gas and grocery prices.
Patricia Costa, Economic Development Director for the Town of Acton, “This situation reminds me of when I taught macroeconomics to undergraduate students and discussed the impact that two key inputs have on production chains: electricity and crude oil. These two inputs play a critical role in the costs of all segments of the economy because virtually every activity depends, directly or indirectly, on energy and fuel.”
Costa added, “Increases in the cost of these inputs are typically transferred to the prices of many goods and services and can become a root cause of cost-push inflation. This occurred in the early 1970s with the sharp rise in oil prices and could potentially happen again, given the current circumstances.”
Costa concluded, “Some businesses may initially try to delay passing these higher costs on to customers out of concern about losing market share. However, once they realize that the increases are widespread across the economy, they often end up adjusting their prices as well.”
State Rep. Simon Cataldo said, “The wars in Ukraine and Iran highlight the downside economic risks of our continued dependence on global energy markets, particularly the market for oil. In Massachusetts, we need to commit with even more urgency to reducing our residents’ reliance on gas to get to work, school, and anywhere else they need to go. Those efforts include expanding public transportation, improving electric vehicle access, and building more dense housing close to work and population centers.”
Alissa Nicol, vice chair of the Select Board, said, “I’ve been concerned about Iranian and Lebanese friends living here when I read the news of specific strikes and death tolls in those countries…We’ve been out of touch for a number of years, but my college roommate is Kuwaiti, and now lives in Dubai. Her parents and other relatives are still in Kuwait, which has been attacked; she and her husband have three children, and Dubai has been attacked. It makes me think of the fact that the people in every nation are children going to school, parents going to work, families playing and sharing meals, so very much like our own. War is so senseless.”
Former State Senator Pam Resor said, “Although I oppose war in general, it is the bombing of a school, killing many children, that has been most upsetting to me. Nothing excuses the heartless response of this president and his administration towards the loss of lives.”
Another Acton resident declined to be interviewed for this article because their child is one of approximately 40,000 to 50,000 U.S. military personnel stationed in the Middle East, with many involved in ongoing air and naval strikes against Iran. The conflict has already seen seven U.S. combat deaths reported by the Pentagon as of March 9, 2026, amid widespread regional operations.
Greg Jarboe is the Senior Center beat reporter for the Acton Exchange and also writes about a lot more.
