Regular gasoline in Los Angeles County reached $6.06 a gallon on Tuesday, Sept. 15, capping 28 consecutive days of price increases.

The price is the highest LA County drivers have paid since June 1, according to AAA and Oil Price Information Service data reported by The Eastsider LA. Over those 28 days, the average price climbed 41.8 cents. Compared with a year ago, LA County drivers are paying $1.35 more per gallon.

The streak traces directly to the U.S.-Iran conflict. Since the joint U.S./Israel war on Iran began Feb. 28, the LA County average has jumped $1.37, according to AAA data. Brent crude oil briefly topped $108 a barrel on Thursday, Sept. 10, its highest since May, after trading below $72 in early July, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, said in a Monday, Sept. 14 statement that prices rose in every state over the previous week. He pointed to friction with Iran, renewed Houthi attacks in the Red Sea and the shutdown of Saudi Arabia's East-West pipeline. Weekend attacks also knocked two Russian refineries offline, he said, straining global supplies and wiping out any seasonal relief from the switch to cheaper winter-blend gasoline.

"We continue to see new escalations, and we're setting new diesel prices almost on a daily basis," De Haan told KIRO Newsradio on Sept. 15. "Unfortunately, gasoline prices are along for a little bit of that ride."

The pain extends well beyond the pump. A Moody's Analytics estimate as of Friday, Sept. 11 put the total extra cost per U.S. household at roughly $1,760 since the conflict began, with $930 of that from higher energy prices alone, CNBC reported. Nationally, consumers have spent more than $121 billion extra on energy since the war started.

Relief looks distant.

President Trump said Thursday, Sept. 10 that oil prices likely will not come down until after the November midterm elections, according to the Los Angeles Times. De Haan was skeptical even of that timeline, telling KIRO Newsradio that Iran would not "suddenly wake up the day after the midterms" and end the conflict.

The national average stood at $4.33 on Sept. 15, up for the 15th time in 16 days. In neighboring Orange County, the average also rose for a 28th straight day, hitting $6.04.