“Whether it’s the grocery store, the mall, whether you buy online everything you buy moves with diesel.”
Gas Buddy Dot Com petroleum analyst Patrick De Haan says the war in Iran is pushing up the price of oil partly because Iran is a major oil producer but especially because they are threatening tankers who dare to sail through the Strait of Hormuz.
“20 percent of the world’s oil supply does flow through the Strait of Hormuz. Iran could potentially launch attacks on vessels transiting through the Strait of Hormuz. Until that is solved oil prices will continue to move higher.”
De Haan says diesel is rising particularly fast. A Saudi diesel refinery is offline after a drone strike, and demand is up because shipments of natural gas are also blocked and consumers around the world are switching to diesel burning furnaces.
“Diesel prices are going to rise even more dramatically than gasoline. It may climb another 40 to 80 cents a gallon over the next several weeks.”
Dehaan says it’s difficult to predict how high the price of gasoline will rise in west Michigan.
“Many stations across the state already now $3.39 a gallon. Next week we could see $3.49. We could see even a little bit above that. I don’t yet see 4 dollar a gallon mark though the situation is unpredictable.”
