Did you see that Costco Wholesale is rationing and massively jacking up prices for motor oil? The Auto Wire, which broke the story, reports that the big club retailer made this move with its Kirkland Signature full synthetic motor oil.

"The 5-quart, two-bottle case...now lists for $57.99 on Costco's product page, up from a price that hovered in the mid-$30s for years. Buried in the fine print is something you almost never see stamped on a jug of oil: a purchase limit," the article reads. "Costco caps buyers at one transaction per membership, with a hard ceiling of two units every seven days."

Something between 80% and 90% of it is made of base oil, a product obtained by refining crude oil.

Costco is also limiting at least one other petroleum-based product; sales of a six-quart case of Mobil 1 are capped at five per member.

Costco didn't respond immediately for comment. So far, other major retailers, like Walmart, haven't followed Costco's lead.

One would think this has at least something to do with soaring oil prices, which have risen because of the U.S./Iran conflict. Prices of Brent crude and West Texas Intermediate are up some 60% and 80%, respectively, year to date.

Gas prices are way up too. The average price of a gallon of gasoline has risen 33.5% since Trump's inauguration on Jan. 30, 2025, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. The average price of a gallon of gas is now just under $4.30 a gallon according to the EIA, the statistical agency of the Department of Energy, which provides policy-independent data.

Rationing and higher prices for motor oil-not particularly an everyday product-is one thing, but soaring gasoline prices is a whole other ballgame with potentially major implications for the coming midterm elections. According to Politico, the incumbent party has lost an average of 21 House seats in midterm elections dating back to 1978. But during election cycles when gas prices rise, that average loss jumps to 32 seats. If you're in the White House or the GOP, the operative word here is 'yikes.'

Back in June, Trump ordered the Justice Department in a social-media post to investigate big oil companies he accused of gouging drivers.

One wag recently asked me if my car's license plate ends in an odd number or even number, riffing off when gas was rationed by license plates numbers in the U.S., last done in 1979. A top hit from that year? "I will Survive" by Gloria Gaynor. We might want to queue that tune back up.