Long lines at gas pump unlikely, but Middle East crisis could disrupt oil supplies, raise prices

Fifty years after the 1973 Arab oil embargo, the current crisis in the Middle East has the potential to disrupt global oil supplies and raise prices. But don’t expect a repeat of the catastrophic price hikes and long lines at the gasoline pump, experts say. The head of the International Energy Agency said the latest Israel-Hamas war is “definitely not good news” for oil markets already stretched by cutbacks in oil production from Saudi Arabia and Russia and expected stronger demand from China. Benchmark crude traded above $91 a barrel Thursday, up from $85 the day before Hamas attacked Israel, killing hundreds of civilians.