Rubbish Check
CNBC Top News · 17 February 2026
source“Gas prices are the highest on record for August. Here are the credit cards and rewards programs that help you save”
R2/ 10
Lightly altered
Rubbish Rating — 1 = base fact, 10 = pure rubbish
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In short
Rubbish Talk rates CNBC's claim that gas prices are "the highest on record for August" a 2/10 because the AAA-sourced figure is accurate and independently corroborated by GasBuddy and multiple other outlets, with the only nitpick being the record refers to nominal, not inflation-adjusted, prices.
The Verdict
Lightly altered. The headline's factual core checks out against AAA's own data and is echoed by independent trackers, so this is close to the base fact; the only iteration away from clean is that CNBC folds a hard-news price record into a credit-card sales pitch without noting the "record" is nominal-dollar only.
What actually happened
The U.S. national average for regular gasoline hit roughly $4.07 to $4.09 a gallon in mid-August 2026, the highest nominal price ever recorded for that calendar month. AAA and GasBuddy both attribute the sustained high prices to continued disruption tied to the Strait of Hormuz and renewed U.S.-Iran hostilities constraining crude supply.
Key facts
- CNBC's article cites $4.07/gallon on the Thursday it reported; AAA's own site put the national average at $4.0715/gallon on August 13, 2026, with the day-ago average at $4.0360 and month-ago at $3.8722.
- The national average rose from $3.80 to $4.08 per gallon between July 6 and August 5, 2026, a 7.5% monthly increase, according to AAA data.
- GasBuddy's Patrick De Haan confirmed the national average "has never been above $4/gal after Aug. 12 in any previous year, ever."
- So far this year, the national average for regular unleaded has spent 103 days, or 46% of its time, at or above $4 per gallon, the highest count of $4-plus gas since 2022, following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
- AAA's own newsroom states crude oil prices remain in the $80-per-barrel range amid continued uncertainty along the Strait of Hormuz, and that this is the highest August on record for pump prices.
What to watch for
- "Record" here is a nominal-dollar comparison; watch whether coverage ever adjusts for inflation, which would put 2008's peak higher in real terms and complicate the "highest ever" framing.
- Analysts have forecast prices could ease to $3.60-$3.90 by autumn absent hurricane disruption, which would undercut the "no relief anytime soon" tone if it plays out.
- Watch whether the Strait of Hormuz situation, described as deadlocked in the article, actually resolves or escalates, since that's the load-bearing cause cited for the price run.
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.
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