GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) — Instability in the middle east is nothing new, but after an American air strike took out a top Iranian general last week in Iraq the world is wondering what happens next.
That’s typically not good for gas prices, but GasBuddy.com’s Patrick De Haan says it isn’t actually doing much.
“At least for now oil prices have seen a slight uptick, but remain on par with levels from a week ago,” De Haan told WTAQ. “At this moment…not a lot is probably going to happen.”
Gas prices have been rising slowly over the past few weeks, something De Haan attributes to a strong economy, especially cooling trade tensions with China.
He says the real concern is what happens if Iran retaliates.
“We’ve seen Iran go after other countries, [they] attacked Saudi Arabia last September, knocking out millions of barrels of oil production,” said De Haan. “That’s more of a concern.”
That attack on a state owned oil facility in eastern Saudi Arabia was attributed to Houthi rebels backed by Iran. Iran denies any involvement. It caused Wisconsin gas prices to jump over ten cents.
Average prices in Green Bay stand at $2.42 a gallon, up a penny since last week and five cents since last month.
