Gas, Oil Prices Hit Unwanted Thresholds

Oil just jumped back into uncomfortable territory, and it brought gas prices along, Axios reports. Brent crude surged past $90 a barrel on Sunday for the first time since mid-June as US-Iran hostilities intensified and tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz thinned again. The move pushed US gas prices back up to the politically sensitive $4-a-gallon mark on Monday, reports the AP. One year ago, the average price nationally was $3.14, notes the auto group AAA.

Oil markets have been cushioned by weak Chinese demand, government stockpile releases, and ample commercial inventories, but analysts say those buffers are wearing thin. Refined fuels are under extra strain as Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian refineries have helped spur Moscow to halt diesel exports. And the Wall Street Journal recently warned that gas prices could stay high even if oil prices ultimately fall.