CENTRE COUNTY, Pa. (WTAJ) \u2014 The conflict in Iran may have only started Saturday, but the impact on gas prices has been swift.<\/p>\n
As the fighting continues<\/a> in the Middle East, there is a growing impact on oil and gas prices. Brad Andrew, a professor of economics at Juniata College, said the Middle East is a large supplier of oil. Now that there has been a disruption in that area, he says to expect a spike in gas prices.<\/p>\n \u201cLocally, gas prices at Sheetz increased to $3.49 a gallon,\u201d Andrew said. \u201cAnd that\u2019s up from last week.\u201d<\/p>\n The spike in price has not been limited to just gas, either.<\/p>\n \u201cThe price of oil right now is several dollars per barrel higher than it was yesterday,\u201d Seth Blumsack, professor of energy policy and economics at Penn State, said.<\/p>\n Blumsack said the oil trade is not limited to a few countries \u2014 it is a \u201cglobal market.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhen you have conflict or something that happens even in one particular part of the world, that shock like reverberates throughout the entire global oil economy,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Get the latest news, weather forecasts and sports stories delivered straight to your inbox! Sign up for our newsletters<\/a>.<\/p>\n Andrew suspects Iran may be in trouble even after the dust settles, which in turn could disrupt oil prices enough to raise costs on the supply chain.<\/p>\n \u201cWe don\u2019t really know what\u2019s going to happen to Iran,\u201d Andrew said. \u2018There\u2019ll be a power vacuum. It wouldn\u2019t be surprising if there was a lot of turmoil within the country, really no effective government.\u201d<\/p>\n Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.<\/p>\n