Oil prices surged in early trading Tuesday, as energy markets adjusted to a new normal in the Middle East. The increase in crude prices threatened to drive up the cost of gas in the United States just two weeks before the midterm elections.
\n\nU.S. crude prices jumped as much as 5% to about $109 a barrel, the highest price since April, while the price of international Brent crude climbed 1.5% to more than $111, its highest price since May. Prices pulled back later in the morning, after weaker-than-expected U.S. housing starts raised the prospect of a broader slowdown and lower demand.
\n\nPrices for advanced oil contracts dated for next year also hit record highs, “implying an extended period of high oil prices deep into 2027,” Deutsche Bank analysts said in a note Tuesday.
\n\n“The 2027 contracts are moving higher as well as the possible reality of higher for longer oil prices sink in,” Peter Boockvar, author of the Boock Report and chief investment officer of OnePoint BFG Wealth Partners, said in a note Tuesday.
\n\nHigh gas prices have become a major issue for voters in the midterms, where Republicans face dwindling odds of maintaining their control of Congress.
\n\nA recent…
Original source: https://www.nbcnews.com/business