Higher gas prices are likely coming to the pump after oil prices jump following Iran attacks
The price of oil surged after U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran, which killed its supreme leader.
U.S. crude oil initially soared more than 10%, while Brent, the international oil benchmark, surged as much as 13% when trading opened on Sunday. U.S. oil rose to about $71.97 a barrel on Monday and Brent climbed to about $78.46.
Even before the weekend’s escalation, oil prices had risen 17% this year off President Donald Trump’s ramped-up rhetoric against the Iranian regime. The Trump administration has also ratcheted up sanctions on Iran in recent months.
Retail gas prices move about 2.5 cents for every $1 move in the price of crude oil, so already a nearly 13 cent-per-gallon increase could be on the horizon for consumers. Price hikes at the gas pump could start as soon as Monday, GasBuddy analyst Patrick De Haan said.
“I fully expect that by Monday night, you could credibly say that gas prices are being impacted by oil prices having gone up,” he said.
“It won’t be a spike,” De Haan said, but still warned that gas stations will likely start passing along price hikes this week.
While Iran’s oil production is estimated to be less than 5% of global output — most of which goes to China because of U.S. sanctions — it has major influence over the Strait of Hormuz, a critical passageway for more than 20% of the world’s daily oil demand.
A closure or restriction there can quickly rock the global oil market, and it would be among the worst-case scenarios for the oil market, longtime industry analyst Andy Lipow said Sunday.
On Saturday and Sunday, at least six of the leading cargo shipping companies said they were halting or diverting ships that were originally set to sail through the key waterway.
“Historically, geopolitical oil shocks fade quickly, but if this episode lasts longer, markets may see extended volatility,” Luis Costa, Citigroup’s global head of emerging markets strategy, wrote in a note on Sunday night.
Stock futures also sharply dropped, with futures that indicate where the S&P 500 will trade Monday falling more than 1% and Nasdaq 100 futures sliding 1.4%. Dow futures dropped more than 500 points.
Russell 2000 futures, which track smaller companies, declined more than 1.3%.
Stocks also tumbled across Europe and Asia. The pan-European Stoxx 600 tumbled 1.4%, Germany’s DAX plunged 1.9% and benchmark indexes in France and Italy dropped 1.6%. Japan’s Nikkei stock index dropped 1.4% overnight.
The U.S. Dollar Index rose 0.7%, and the price of precious metals rose, with gold jumping 3% or more than $150, an indication that investors and traders are flocking to “safe haven” assets in the wake of the conflict.
“The scale [of Iran’s retaliation] has been a big, big surprise,” Jorge León, head of geopolitical analysis at Rystad Energy, told NBC News on Saturday. “This is a totally different world from what the market was anticipating.”
Earlier Sunday, eight oil-rich nations that are part of OPEC+ said they planned to increase production by more than 200,000 barrels of oil per day starting next month in a move aimed at calming markets.
For prices to fall, the market will most likely need tensions to ease.
“The trajectory of oil prices will ultimately depend on four variables,” JPMorgan Chase analysts said in a note Sunday. Those factors are how much supply is disrupted, how long a disruption lasts, whether supply from other sources can be mobilized quickly and what comes next.
Crude oil may not be the only commodity affected.
“While much of the focus is on crude oil, Qatar is the second largest exporter of [liquified natural gas] behind the USA,” Lipow wrote in a note. “LNG tankers are also being diverted away from the region,” he added. “A disruption in LNG would result in higher natural gas prices, especially in Europe.”
Natural gas prices were trading higher by about 4% on Monday morning.
Allie Canal contributed.
