Lake Forest and Lake Bluff drivers are paying $4.32 per gallon for regular gasoline this Labor Day weekend, the average across Lake County, according to AAA.

Nationally, GasBuddy projects the holiday will set a record. The fuel savings platform forecast Sept. 1 that the national average would reach $4.03 per gallon, 87 cents more than Labor Day 2025 and the highest holiday pump price on record. The previous record was $3.83 per gallon, set in 2012.

Lake County's $4.32 average, reported by Patch using AAA data as of Thursday, Sept. 3, lands in the middle of Chicago's collar counties. Cook County led at $4.52 per gallon, followed by DuPage at $4.39, Will at $4.38, Kendall at $4.36, and Kane and McHenry tied at $4.34. Lake County's price matched the Illinois statewide average.

Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, told Michigan Public Radio on Sept. 2 that "the national average has never been above $4 a gallon on Labor Day."

Two overseas conflicts are driving the surge.

The war in Iran and the blockage of the Strait of Hormuz have squeezed global crude oil shipments, according to GasBuddy. Ukrainian drone strikes on Russian refineries have also knocked millions of barrels of refining capacity offline, tightening worldwide supplies of gasoline, diesel and jet fuel.

GasBuddy said in its forecast that the disruptions "have disconnected crude oil prices from fuel prices, pushing refining margins, or crack spreads, to record levels." The company warned the dynamic could keep prices elevated this fall and push diesel to record highs in coming weeks.

Diesel has already hit historic levels in parts of Illinois. A Center Square report noted that Alexander County, at the state's southern tip, recorded an all-time diesel high of $6.19 per gallon.

Some relief may arrive after Tuesday, Sept. 15, when much of the country switches to cheaper winter-blend gasoline. How much prices fall depends on developments in the Middle East, GasBuddy said.

De Haan said in GasBuddy's Sept. 1 press release that this year "has been less about typical supply and demand, and more about uncertainty over how global tensions will affect the availability of crude oil and refined products."