Rubbish Check
CBS MoneyWatch · September 10, 2026
source“Diesel prices are nearing $6 a gallon for the first time ever”
R2/ 10
Lightly altered
Rubbish Rating — 1 = base fact, 10 = pure rubbish
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In short
Rubbish Talk rates CBS MoneyWatch's claim that diesel is "nearing $6 a gallon for the first time ever" a 2/10 because AAA's own national average of $5.98 was already above the prior all-time record of $5.81 set in June 2022, making the headline accurate if anything slightly conservative.
The Verdict
Lightly altered. The headline is faithful to the AAA figure it cites and to the historical record it implies, the one soft spot is that the article itself notes GasBuddy's tracker already had diesel over $6, so "nearing" undersells where the number actually stood by some measures that same day.
What actually happened
Diesel's national average, per AAA, hit $5.98 a gallon, a level unseen in U.S. history and well above the prior record of $5.81 set in June 2022. CBS attributes the surge to the Iran war curbing global oil supply and to a refining squeeze in Russia and the Middle East, driven partly by Ukrainian drone strikes on Russian refineries. The piece notes consumers have largely been shielded so far because retailers are absorbing costs through existing contracts, but that cushion is expected to fade within weeks.
Key facts
- AAA national average diesel price: $5.98 a gallon on Thursday, up 61% from $3.71 a year earlier.
- Prior all-time record (per Yahoo Finance/AAA): $5.81 a gallon, set in June 2022, since eclipsed.
- GasBuddy's real-time tracker showed diesel had already surpassed $6, per the article.
- Gasoline, by contrast, was at $4.28 a gallon, per AAA, underscoring diesel's outsized move.
- Brent crude jumped to $108 a barrel on Thursday as U.S.-Iran fighting escalated.
- Department of Labor data cited in the piece: over a third of August's producer goods-price jump was attributed to diesel, which rose 24.1% that month.
What to watch for
Watch whether retailers' fuel-surcharge contracts get renegotiated in the next six weeks, the point at which De Haan says pass-through to consumers, especially perishable groceries, accelerates. Also watch whether S&P Global Energy's forecast of no return to prewar oil production before 2027 holds, since that timeline underpins the "elevated for months" framing.
About this scoreThe R-Score is Rubbish Talk's editorial opinion on how far a headline's framing sits from what the underlying facts support. It is a judgement about presentation and emphasis, not an allegation that any outlet has acted dishonestly. Every figure we rely on is linked under Receipts so you can check it yourself.
