The price you pay to fill your tank, heat your home, and stock your fridge is about to climb.
Oilblasted past $100 (£75.15) a barrel on Sunday evening for the first time since 2022. US benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude jumped roughly 18% to above $107 (£80.44) a barrel, whileBrent cruderose about 17% to above $108 (£81.19), according to Yahoo Finance. The 35% weekly gain marks the largest in futures trading history, dating back to 1983.
Stock markets reacted fast. Dow futures crashed around 900 points, or 1.9%. S&P 500 futures fell 1.9%, and Nasdaq 100 futures dropped roughly 2.3%.
But here's what most headlines aren't telling you: the real story isn't Wall Street. It's your wallet.
The Strait of Hormuz, where roughly 20% of global oil passes daily, remains effectively shut. Kuwait has confirmed production cuts. Iraq's output has plunged about 70%. These aren't abstract market figures. They translate directly to higher prices at American gas stations and British forecourts alike.
Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy,posted on Xthat he now sees an 80% chance that US gas will hit $4 (£3.01) a gallon within a month. He alsoestimatesan 85% chance that diesel reaches $5 (£3.76) a gallon within a week.
US retail gas prices havealready jumpedto a national average of $3.45 (£2.59) a gallon, up 47 cents from a week ago, according to AAA.
UK drivers are feeling it as well. Petrol currently averages around 136p per litre, with diesel at approximately 146p. Both have risen 3-5p per litre over the past month alone.
While pump prices are climbing, heating oil has already spiked on both sides of the Atlantic. In the UK, energy comparison service BoilerJuice reported prices have surged about 117% in recent days. The End Fuel Poverty Coalition found that 1,000 litres now costs nearly £985 ($1,310), compared to £670 ($891) in January. That's a 47% jump in two months.
One Suffolk resident told BBC Radio Suffolk her 500-litre delivery jumped from £350 ($465) to around £620 ($825) within a single week. For the 1.5 million UK households relying on heating oil rather than mains gas, this isn't a market story. It's a budget crisis.
Source: International Business Times UK
