The average price of regular gasoline in the United States has risen to 4.1 U.S. dollars per gallon, up 12 cents from the previous week, according to data released by the American Automobile Association (AAA) on Saturday.
Since the U.S. and Israel launched strikes against Iran on Feb. 28, gasoline prices in the U.S. have increased by approximately 37 percent, the data showed.
Regional differences remain significant. California has the highest average gasoline price in the nation, nearing 5.92 U.S. dollars per gallon, while Oklahoma reports the lowest average at 3.29 U.S. dollars per gallon.
Analysts attribute the sharp rise in fuel costs primarily to disrupted access through the Strait of Hormuz, a vital global waterway that handles roughly 20 percent of the world's oil transportation. Meanwhile, slow oil production in the Middle East has further pushed prices upward.
US average gas prices surge to $4.1 per gallon amid Middle East conflict
More than 1,000 coal mines in China have adopted intelligent systems, as their application expands from pilot projects to large-scale deployment, the China National Coal Association said recently.
Statistics show that by the end of 2025, a total of 1,066 coal mines nationwide have introduced smart systems, with such technologies now supporting more than 65 percent of the country's coal production capacity. The number of autonomous mining trucks in operation surpassed 4,000 units, roughly doubling on an annual basis.
The rapid adoption of smart mining is driven by robust domestic capabilities in intelligent equipment and technology. In Beijing, a newly deployed underground Internet of Things (IoT) precision positioning and management system links workers, positioning cards and operating zones, while also enabling health monitoring. Its core technologies and components are fully domestically developed and have been applied in coal mines and coal preparation plants. "This underground positioning system we've developed has a positioning deviation of less than 20 centimeters when a person or device is stationary. Even when a person or device is moving at high speeds, the margin of error remains minimal. A single device can cover a radius of 800 meters," said Wu Fengdong, general manager of China Coal Beijing Coal Mining Machinery Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of the state-owned China National Coal Group Corporation.
Since the start of the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021–2025), cumulative investment in smart mining has exceeded 107.1 billion yuan (about 15.6 billion U.S. dollars), with intelligent technologies now widely applied, accelerating the shift from traditional mining to modern, technology-driven extraction.
Over 60 pct of China's coal production capacity uses smart technology by end of 2025
