COLUMBUS: President Trump announced a two-week ceasefire with Iran Tuesday evening, sending oil prices plunging more than 15% within hours and raising hopes that Columbus drivers, who are currently averaging $3.78 per gallon, could soon see some relief at the pump.
But analysts are warning Central Ohio residents not to expect prices to drop immediately.
Ceasefire Announcement
Trump posted the ceasefire announcement on Truth Social around 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, less than two hours before his own deadline to launch massive strikes against Iran. The agreement hinges on Iran allowing safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow waterway through which about 20% of the world’s oil travels. Iran had effectively closed the strait since the war began in late February.
Iran’s foreign minister confirmed the country would allow transit through the strait while the ceasefire holds. Trump said the U.S. received a 10-point proposal from Iran and called it “a workable basis on which to negotiate.”
Oil prices reacted immediately. West Texas Intermediate crude fell more than 16% to around $94 per barrel within hours. That is still well above the $67 per barrel price before the war started.
Columbus Gas Prices
Columbus drivers are currently averaging $3.78 per gallon, down 9.1 cents from last week but still 35 cents higher than a month ago and 58 cents above this time last year, according to GasBuddy’s survey of 500 stations in the Columbus area. Prices range widely across the city from $3.45 at Costco on Stelzer Road and BJ’s on N. Hamilton Road to as high as $4.19 at some stations. The national average stood at about $4.06 per gallon as of Wednesday morning, according to AAA.
Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, said Tuesday evening that national gas prices could fall below $4 per gallon within one to two weeks if the ceasefire holds and the Strait of Hormuz reopens fully. The national average stood at $4.14 per gallon as of Tuesday.
But De Haan and other analysts also cautioned that the ceasefire has not fully resolved the situation. The strait may have been mined. Damaged oil infrastructure in the region takes weeks or months to repair and restart. Ships that were rerouted during the closure need time to return to normal routes.
“The ceasefire hasn’t really clarified anything when it comes to the Strait,” De Haan said on social media Tuesday night.
The war’s impact on Columbus was already significant before Tuesday’s announcement. When the conflict began in late February, Ohio gas prices jumped 64 cents in a single week. Uber driver Fred Prindle told in March that the higher prices were cutting directly into what he earned. United Airlines announced it raised checked luggage fees and warned that 5% of routes could be cut because of higher fuel costs a warning that could affect flights out of John Glenn Columbus International Airport.
J.P. Morgan analysts had warned before the ceasefire that gas prices could hit $5 per gallon nationally if the strait stayed closed through mid-April. That scenario now appears less likely but is not fully off the table if talks break down.
The Two-Week Window
The ceasefire is temporary. Both sides have two weeks to negotiate a longer-term agreement. If talks collapse, oil prices could spike again quickly. Iran’s government emphasized Tuesday that the ceasefire “is not the end of the war.”
Columbus drivers can track current local gas prices at gasbuddy.com or the AAA fuel gauge report at gasprices.aaa.com.
This article is based on reporting from CNN and GasBuddy data.
Published: April 8, 2026 | ColumbusFrontline.com