• CREA estimates extra gasoline and diesel costs of about $468 billion worldwide since the Iran conflict began in late February 2026.
• The US share is about $160 billion, roughly a third of the total, or $471 per person against a global average of about $60.
• China ranks second at about $54 billion, and Canada is third in the CREA list at $17 billion.
• The estimate compares retail pump prices with January-February 2026 and relies on scaled or estimated consumption data in several countries.
• It covers road fuels only, so electricity and gas costs are outside the headline number.

The United States is paying more than any other country for the fuel-price shock tied to the Iran conflict, according to the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA). Its estimate puts the global extra cost of gasoline and diesel at about $468 billion since late February, with roughly $160 billion landing on American consumers. These are modelled retail-price figures, not audited spending, and this desk treats them as an estimate until CREA's inputs can be checked independently. This is analysis, not trading advice.

What CREA actually measured

CREA's headline covers extra diesel and gasoline costs from March to 26 October 2026, measured against January and February prices before Hormuz shipping was disrupted. It puts the global total at about $468 billion, or roughly $60 per person, and the US total at about $160 billion. That is around a third of the whole and $471 per American. The scope is road fuels only; electricity is excluded.

Why the US tops the list

CREA attributes the American burden to exceptional oil consumption and heavy reliance on inefficient, oil-burning private vehicles, rather than to US prices rising faster than elsewhere. By its calculation China ranks second at about $54 billion and Canada follows at $17 billion. The per-capita comparison needs care: the $471 US figure is set against a $60 global average that includes many low-consumption countries, so the gap partly reflects fuel intensity.

Where the data is thin

CREA's own caveats limit how far the number can be pushed. Prices come from GlobalPetrolPrices.com across 169 countries, while US volumes use Energy Information Administration data and many other countries use scaled or 2023 consumption levels. Some European months and China's September and October volumes are estimated. Driver examples assume average US mileage. The total is therefore best read as an order-of-magnitude estimate, not a ledger.

What to watch next

The estimate will keep moving with pump prices and with how quickly Hormuz flows normalise. CREA reports diesel up about a third and petrol up more than a fifth, with increases in most of the countries it tracks. OilPrice.com notes that Europe and Asia face heavy electricity, gas and coal costs that this tally leaves out. Watch for revised CREA updates and official EIA price data to test the headline.