Israeli Warplanes and Middle East Conflict Cost You Money at the Gas Pump

When rockets were launched from Lebanon into northern Israel, the Israeli reaction was both predictable and prompt. Lebanon was hit with a massive air, land and sea assault that continues as of this writing. Now, whatever your opinion regarding Israel, the one thing that cannot be said is that the Israeli attack was without provocation.

There was also one other very predictable reaction on the world scene: The price of crude oil hit better than $78 per barrel and predictions this morning are that it will go as high as $80. Since the Israeli assault shows no signs of slowing down -and won't as long as the Hezbollah guerrillas continue to launch new rockets into Israel- $80 a barrel as a stopping place is nothing more than a slim hope at best. How far will the price go? Your guess is as good as mine. It probably depends on how widespread the fighting becomes and how long it lasts. However, $90 - $100 a barrel may not be unreasonable.

But there is also another truth. As long as the price of crude continues to rise, the price of gasoline will rise right along with it. In Ft. Worth, Texas, unleaded regular is already selling for $2.89 - $2.95 at most stations. Once in a great while you'll find it a little cheaper, but not often. Keep in mind, this price range was before the Israeli response and while crude was going for $75 a barrel. When the impact of this current conflict trickles down to the gas pumps (anywhere from today to a week from now), I wouldn't be at all surprised to see unleaded regular at $3.05 to $3.15 at the very least. And it will probably continue to climb for a while.